Blended Family: Linchpin
by Kikide
Summary: Leo goes missing.  Will his family fail without him there to hold them together?  Can Leo survive until they find him?
1. The Joke Master

**A/N Still don't own them. This, however, is the sequal to my first story "Blended Family." Hopefully it will be as enjoyable as its predecessor.**

* * *

It was late in the evening, and most of the family had already gone to bed. Everybody except the two "youngest," that is. Had any of their brothers been around to see them conspiring, it would have sent a jolt of well earned alarm through said brother. After all, seeing just Mikey or Michelangelo with that plotting look on his face was enough to make any sane turtle wary. To see the two of them, whispering together while wearing that look would have sent the family running for cover. The two "brothers" were so involved in their plotting, however, that they were unaware that they were no longer alone, until they heard someone clear their throat behind them. Jumping in surprise, the pair turned to find Leo standing behind them, arms crossed over his chest, a stern look on his face.

"There will be no plotting," he told them gruffly, "unless I can get in on it too."

Michelangelo could only goggle at his older brother. Leo? In on a prank? No way! Mikey, on the other hand, gave his big brother a glowing, knowing grin. "Welcome aboard, bro," he told Leo.

"Whoa, are you nuts," Michelangelo exclaimed, looking at his double in shock. "That's Leo!"

"So," Mikey said, puzzled by his alternate's protests.

"Duh, Leo doesn't do pranks," Michelangelo explained. Mikey just shook his head and threw an arm around Michelangelo's shoulders.

"Dude, you are looking at the master of pranks," Mikey said, pointing at Leo. "Trust me. Good as we are, he's better. Besides, who else is better suited for getting the evil Gemini's?" The evil Gemini's had been the nickname Mikey had given Raph and Raphael, who had a tendency to adopt identical body language and grumpy looks, usually at the same time, whenever they were unhappy with something.

Michelangelo gave his big brother a considering look. "All right," he finally said. "This is what we're thinking." His voice dropped to a whisper as he outlined the plan he and Mikey had developed. To his surprise, Leo seemed anxious to assist, even going as far as to provide some flourishes of his own. After ten minutes of further plotting, the trio set off to carry out their separate parts of the mission. Their brothers were never going to know what hit them.

TMNTTMNT

The next morning, Raph awoke as usual. Climbing from his bed, he stretched a little bit before heading to the kitchen for a cup of tea to help him wake up before practice. It was Leo's turn, and he knew the oldest turtle was going to be pushing his brothers hard today.

Raph reached the kitchen to find Donny and Donatello, or the Geek twins as he called them, already there. What he wasn't expecting, however, was their appearance. Someone, and one guess who, had expertly, though tastefully, made up his brothers' faces. From the perfectly blended blush, to the oddly fetching lipstick, the pair looked like a pair of bizarre fashion plates. Shell, Raph thought to himself, even their _nails_ were done. Even more disconcerting were the pastel violet masks that had replaced their usual head gear. Donny's had a pattern of small white flowers dotting it, while Donatello's sported a small bow directly over his right ear.

"What the shell happened to you two," he asked rather pointlessly.

"The same thing that happened to you," Donny told him with a smirk.

"What," Raph exclaimed, grabbing up a hand mirror he had just then noticed lying on the table. Sure enough, his face was similarly painted, and his mask had been replaced with a pale pink one, trimmed in lace. Likewise, his fingernails had been painted a matching pink. Before Raph could say anything, a yell could be heard coming from the bathroom. The sound actually made Raph smile.

"Sound like Menace just saw himself," he muttered to his brothers, speaking of the second oldest turtle and Raph's older self.

"Where are they," Raphael growled as he came tearing into the kitchen, pink mask and nails somewhat taking away from his normal threatening manner. "Where are the Brats?" By which, of course, he meant Mikey and Michelangelo.

"Morning, dudes," Mikey said, as he and his double came into the kitchen. The rest of the family could only stare at the pair in wonderment. Mikey gave them a mystified look in return; this certainly wasn't the response he was expecting to receive. Jus then, Donny started to chuckle. "What," Mikey asked. Without saying a word, Raph handed him the small mirror. Looking into, Mikey couldn't hold back his snort of surprise. Looking back at him was a face just as made up and worked over as any of his brothers. And just like the rest of the family, his mask had been replaced by a pale yellow one covered in white daisies. Michelangelo had received the same treatment, though his mask was covered in glitter instead.

Looking at each other, the two youngest turtles started to laugh. It seemed their co-conspirator had ad-libbed the night before. All laughter came to a grinding halt, however, when Master Splinter came into the kitchen. That was simply because no one knew quite what to say. Finally, Michelangelo squeaked out, "Morning sensei. How are you feeling this morning?"

"I am quite well my son," the elderly rat replied. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, I don't know," the turtle replied. "I just thought you might be," he struggled to keep his laughter contained, "feeling a bit," a giggle finally escaped, "blue." At this, Michelangelo couldn't hold it back any longer, and he about fell over he was laughing so hard. Mikey and the others soon joined him. Splinter gave his sons, both sets, a vexed look. However, being well versed in his youngest's propensity for gags, he knew there was more the outburst. Imperiously, Splinter reached a hand out to Raph, who gathered himself enough to hand him the mirror. It immediately became apparent just what had his sons in such an uproar for, although it was very pale, especially against the grey of his fur, there was no denying that Splinter was a definite blue color.

"Mikey, Michelangelo," Splinter growled as he lowered the mirror.

"I swear, sensei," Michelangelo gasped through his tears and laughter, "We had nothing to do with this."

"Then who did," the rat asked archly. Just then, Leo came into the kitchen; a very clean and unadorned Leo.

"Good morning sensei," he said calmly, as if his father had always been a lovely color of pastel blue. Then, with a wry twist of his lips he added to his brothers, "And how are you lovely ladies this morning?"

TMNTTMNT

"I'm going to kill him," Raphael told his double later practice. It had taken nearly an hour to start their training, for everyone had refused to start until after they had taken the time to remove all traces of Leo and the Brats' artistic endeavors. At this time, Leo was working one-on-one with Master Splinter, leaving the others free to go about their daily activities.

"No you're not," his double replied, taking a bite of his cereal.

"Why not," Raphael grumped as he ate his cereal as well.

"Firstly, because this was not a death-worthy prank," Raph told him.

"Yeah, you keep on believing that until the pictures show up," the other turtle warned.

"Anyway," Raph continued, "think about what a big step for Leo this was."

"Yeah, a big step into immaturity," Raphael countered.

"No, Raph's right," Donatello interjected. "Six months ago, Leo never would have even considered pulling something like this."

"That he's doing so now means he's secure enough with the family to let loose," Donny said, finishing his alternate's thought.

"You two know I hate it when you do that, right," Raphael asked, but the others just ignored him.

"Besides," Mikey added. "He got Master Splinter. I mean, I've been tempted before, but I never had the guts to actually pull something on Sensei."

"Come on, Raphael," Michelangelo wheedled his older brother. "You have to admit, seeing Master Splinter completely blue was pretty funny. Besides, Leo managed to prank us, too, and we're the ones who planned the whole thing in the first place."

"That reminds me," Donny said, "where did you get the make-up anyway?"

"Mine was in the stuff I brought with us," Mikey admitted. "And Michelangelo has slowly been collecting his for the past couple of months. I don't know where Leo got his."

"All right, if you're doing confessions, who made up whom," Donatello asked.

"I did you," Michelangelo said. "And Mikey got Donny. Leo did both Raph and Raphael. We knew he was the only who could get away with it without waking either of them up."

"Wait, wait," Raphael said. "You mean Leo managed to get me, Raph, both of you, _and_ Master Splinter, all without waking anyone up, look bright as a daisy this morning despite the apparent lack of sleep, and still try to half kill us during practice?"

The two orange masked turtles looked at each other, then back at Raphael. "Yep," they replied in unison. At this, Raphael was finally forced to laugh.

"All right," he conceded. "Leo's off the hook this time. I mean, if he could pull all that off in one night, and still whip our tails this morning in practice, well you gotta admire the boy. Now, while wonder boy is still occupied with Master Splinter, let's get some planning done ourselves. If we're going to throw Leo a welcome back party in three days, we need to get some things settled."

And with that, the six brothers set to work finalizing their plans.


	2. Predators

**A/N Hopefully you'll find these guys as creepy as I do, and I'm the one who has created them. **

* * *

James Babbot sat in his favorite bar, nursing his fifth whiskey of the night. James enjoyed the dark, smoky, dead-end atmosphere of the run down dive; it suited him perfectly. Babbot wasn't the typical, run-of-the-mill patron of the seedy little joint. Nope, good old James was a certified, card carrying, gun toting, cold blooded killer, though he preferred the term "hunter." Hunting was what James did. He came to this ratty old bar, picked out his victim, usually no one anybody would actually miss, and by whatever means necessary nabbed his newest target and hauled him, always men, up to his family's place in the country, about twenty miles outside the city. Said individual was then released onto the Babbot family's fifty acres of forested land, and the hunt began.

'The only problem,' Babbot thought to himself as he surveyed the slim pickings of the bar, 'is that finding satisfactory prey is proving harder and harder to do.' His last three victims had provided almost no sport at all, and from the looks of tonight's sparse crowd, it didn't seem his luck was about to change. As a last resort, James had settled on a mousey little drunk in the corner of the bar; he was just waiting for his target to leave so that he could grab him and head home.

At last, the little mouse pulled out his wallet, tossed a few bills on the table to cover his tab, and headed for the door. James was just getting up to follow, when a large, oddly cloaked figure blocked out the gloomy light, cutting off Babbot's visual of his intended victim.

"Move it, bub," James growled, pushing his chair back.

"James Babbot," the shadowy figure inquired.

"What's it to ya," James grunted.

"Please, Mr. Babbot, retake your seat," the figure said in a deep, though oddly hissing, voice. "I have a business proposition to offer you."

"What kind of proposition," Babbot asked, curious despite himself.

"You are, I believe, a hunter of 'rare' game, are you not," the strange individual asked. "Rather _illegal_ game, as it were."

"Something like that," Babbot admitted without any shred of self-consciousness as he resumed his seat.

"And I believe your sport has provided you very little entertainment here lately."

"Yeah, so," James said.

"I believe I can offer you prey unlike anything you have ever hunted before, and that will more than test your skill," the cloaked "man" said.

"And what kind of prey might that be," James asked. "I've hunted pretty much everything there is to hunt."

"Nothing like this," the other said, handing over a group of photos from James wasn't sure where. They just seemed to appear from thin air. Gathering up the photos, James gave them a curious glance. His eyes went wide, and his brow went up at what the pictures revealed.

"What is that thing," he asked the stranger. "It looks like a giant turtle, but…"

"That's exactly what he is," the stranger replied. "One of seven living in the sewers of the city. And not only is he a giant walking, talking turtle, he's been trained as a ninja. Like I said, a target unlike any you've ever hunted."

James felt an odd sense of lust come over him as he studied the pictures. There wasn't anything sexual in his desire; he just knew that he _must_ have the turtle to play with in his killing field. Oh, what a trophy it would make. But James wasn't a fool to think this individual in front of him was going to just hand this kind of prize over, and he wanted to know the price before he agreed to anything.

"All right, I'll bite. How much do you want for delivering this particular prize?"

"I'm not asking anything," the stranger replied. "So long as you make him suffer, that will be enough for me."

Still, James was hesitant. "Tell you what. Let me take those pictures home with me and think on it a couple of days. I'll let you know if I'm interested."

"Very well," the shadowy figure replied. He placed a small business card on the table. "If you decide you are interested, email me at this address in three days. We'll make arrangements for delivery then." And, within the space of a heartbeat, the mysterious stranger was gone as quick as he had appeared.

TMNTTMNT

When James arrived home that night, he found his younger brother Peter still up.

"So, what kind of pathetic loser did you bring back this time," the younger Babbot asked derisively.

"No victim, but I did get a very interesting offer," James said, pulling the photos from his coat pocket. He handed them over to his younger brother. "A stranger offered me this as new plaything."

Just like James, Peter's eyes went big at seeing what was in the pictures. "And just what was he asking for in return," he asked, never taking his eyes off the photos.

"He said he didn't want anything for delivering the creature; just that I make it suffer," James replied. "I believe I'm going to take him up on the offer."

"Oh, yes," Peter said in hoarse excitement. "But you're not going to kill this beast; oh, no, not this one."

"What," James exclaimed. "That's how the game ends."

"Not this time," Peter told him. "Oh, you can hunt him down. Wound him; use your lovely little traps on him if you must. But at the end of the evening, he must be alive. You see, I've just found the next addition to my rarities collection, and I won't have you killing it."

James huffed, but made no further argument. There was no arguing with Peter when he got like this. "Fine, I won't kill the beast. But I get his mask and gear as a trophy."

"Agreed," his brother replied. "He won't need it once I've got him in my hands."

"Well, if we're done negotiating, I'm going to bed."

"Very well," Peter told him. "I'll see you in the morning."

As James made his way upstairs, Peter settled himself on the couch to take a closer look at the pictures in his hand; pictures of a large, leather-masked turtle wielding twin swords. Peter Babbot loved to collect things, inanimate or otherwise, that no one else had; this turtle certainly fit the bill, and Peter would do anything to get his hands on it.

"Soon you'll be mine," he practically cooed at the pictures. "All mine."


	3. Celebration

**A/N Cliffhanger warning: Cliffhanger ahead! You have been warned.**

* * *

Three days after "The Prank," the brothers found themselves on the way to April and Casey's place for Leo's welcome home party. Although it might have been easier to hold the celebration at the Lair, Donatello had made arrangements with April to hold it at her place instead. This was partly because Leo had just been given permission to return to full active duty, and this would be his first time topside since he awoke from his coma. It had taken him a while to, first, recover from the seriousness of the wounds and rebuild his strength, and, seeing as how it was now fall, and Donny and Donatello had wanted to be absolutely sure he was fully recovered before letting him out into the increasingly cooler weather; after all, it wouldn't do to have him live through a bullet only to succumb to hypothermia. The second reason April's place had been chosen to host the party was because this was also serving as an informal celebration for her marriage to Casey. Although she and Casey had been married the previous year, no one had felt overly inclined to celebrate in the face of the turtles' loss. Now that Leo was back, however, there was plenty to celebrate, including April's announcement that she and Casey would soon be adding a new member to their large and growing family. Besides, neither April nor Casey had yet to meet the three newest members of the turtle clan, and this party was meant to be their introduction as well.

TTTT

Not everyone was excited about this party and Mikey and Michelangelo. The closer the time of he party got, the quieter Donny became. It was enough to make his older "brothers" take notice of his odd behavior. Therefore, just before the family left the Lair, Mikey had pulled his older self, Donatello, and Raphael to the side. The unusually serious look on his face quickly caught their attention.

"Bros, I just wanted to give a quick heads up and a word of warning," he had told them quietly. "If Donny starts acting a little weird around April, _please_ don't give him a hard time about it."

"Why would Donny get weirded out by April," Raphael had asked in return, his tone suggesting that, depending on Mikey's answer, he might or might not consider leaving the younger turtle alone.

"Back home, Donny had a little 'thing' for April," Mikey explained. "He knew it wasn't going anywhere, especially once Casey came into the picture, but it still hurt him a lot when she left. Not only was he crushing on her just a little bit, but they were like best techno buds. This is going to be really odd for him, and I don't want him hurt."

"Don't worry," Donatello assured him, giving his other brothers a stern look. "I'll look out for Donny. I promise I won't let him get hurt or embarrassed."

TTTT

Now they were right outside April's place, and everyone was feeling just a little anxious. Donny for obvious reasons, and the others because of all the changes that had taken place since they had last seen April or Casey. The feeling was quickly overcome, however, when April flung the door open and threw herself into Leo's arms.

"Leo," she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around him tightly. "You have no idea how good it is to have you back. Oh, I'm so glad you're okay."

Leo happily returned the hug. "You, too, April. And congratulations, both for the wedding and the baby. I guess Casey finally decided to grow up, huh?"

"It's been a long time coming, but yeah, he finally stepped up," April said, taking a step back, though she didn't remove her hand from Leo's arm. "Though I hear we're not the only one who's had a new addition to the family."

Leo smiled, but stepped aside so that he could introduce the three new turtles, who, like Leo, were wearing their usual brown leather masks, making it just a little difficult to distinguish them from each other. "It's actually pretty simple to tell them apart," Leo told April. "They use the same weapons as their counterparts from this dimension. So, the motor mouth here with the nunchucks…"

"Must be Michelangelo," April concluded, giving the youngest turtle a smile.

"Just Mikey," he told her, smiling back. "Michelangelo's my older, less attractive version you already know."

The next turtle who stepped forward was sporting a very familiar pair of Sais. "One guess who this is," Leo whispered to April as Raph shook her hand.

"Too easy," April laughed back. "This can only be Raphael. Even if he wasn't carrying the Sais, I'd recognize that look on his face anywhere."

"Hey," Raph protested. "It's just Raph. Raphael, aka the 'Menace,' is the old guy you already know."

"Menace," April asked, curious at the nickname.

"You know, like 'menace to society?' I just shortened it to Menace; it's easier to say," Raph told her. April just laughed again before turning to face the final newcomer.

"You can only be Donny," she said, smiling warmly at him. Donny just blushed, a difficult feat for a green-skinned turtle, before ducking his head shyly and scuttling past.

"What--?" April started to ask, but Donatello interrupted her as he brought up the rear, having purposely located himself to be close at hand for Donny's introduction.

"Don't worry about it April," he said as he came up to where the human woman was standing arm in arm with his brother. "Let's just say things haven't been the best for Donny over the past couple of years, and it might take a while before he's comfortable around you."

April's eyes softened in understanding. "Got it," she told the purple masked turtle. "Assure him for me, if you would, that I won't push for more than he can give until he's ready."

"Thanks April," Leo told her. He'd been informed by Mikey about Donny's conflicted feelings for April, and he was glad his human friend was being so understanding. "Now," he said, changing the topic, "why don't we go find something to eat, before Mikey and Michelangelo eat it all?"

Donatello and April chuckled at that, and three made their way further into the apartment.

TTTT

Casey eyed the leather-masked Raph who was giving Michelangelo a hard time across the room. He'd heard a lot about the new turtle from Raphael over the past several months, and he wasn't sure yet what he thought about the guy. Casey's thoughts were interrupted by a chuckle from someone on his right.

"He's not going to bite, you know," Leo told the semi-reformed vigilante. "Want me to introduce you two?"

"I ain't so sure about that," Casey told the sword-carrying turtle. "After everything Raphael's told me, I'm not sure he and I would get along all that well. Besides, it don't seem like he's all that interested in being introduced."

"Well, first, you have to remember that up until recently, Raph and Raphael were kind of at odds," Leo replied. "That means you should probably take what Raphael said with a grain of salt. The other thing to remember is that in his world, you're dead. It's got to be just little weird for him seeing you alive and breathing."

Casey took time to consider that. "All right," he finally said. "Let's get this over with."

Leo just smiled, but called his younger brother over to the table where he and Casey were standing. "Raph, Casey, this is going to seem a little silly since you both already know who the other is, but I'll make the introductions anyway. Raph, this is Casey Jones, part-time vigilante and April's husband. Casey, this is Raph, my younger brother and best friend from a parallel dimension."

Raph gave Casey a considering look. "Funny," he said, "you don't like the bonehead Raphael has been telling me about."

"Why that…" Casey muttered. Then he looked at Raph and said, "That's alright; you don't look like the self-important prig Raphael was telling me about."

"Self-important prig? That little…"

Leo cheerfully walked away, leaving the pair to happily insult each other and Raphael to their hearts' content. Yep, looked like the start of a beautiful, though disturbing, friendship.

TMNTTMNT

The festivities finally came to an end around eleven, though it took another hour and a half for the brothers to finish the clean up. April had tried to insist that she could just as well handle it the next day, but Leo refused to leave until the apartment was once again put back in order. After congratulating April and Casey once more, the turtle clan departed. With Master Splinter's blessing, the brother decided on a round-about way home, involving a game of ninja tag. The elderly rat knew that, with all the extra sugar in his sons' systems, they would not be ready for bed for quite a while unless they were able to expend some of their excess energy. Besides, with seven of them, what harm could befall them?

The turtles ranged all over the city in their game, as first one, then another, was "it." Around two in the morning, however, Leo made the decision that it was time for the brothers to start making their way back home. As was to be expected, his newer set of brothers complied at once with no complaints. To Leo's pleasure, however, his original brothers didn't complain either, and the seven of them set off for home. They had just reached the top of April's building, when they encountered something very unusual. A black, mist-like cloud settled over them, seemingly out of nowhere, just as they all came to rest on the top of the building. Something deep inside Leo began to scream an alarm, but before he could warn his brothers to keep moving, his world went black, and he collapsed in a heap on the rooftop.


	4. Missing Again

**A/N Okay, I'm going to try and get one more chapter after this posted today. I won't be able, most likely, to post anything tomorrow, since I'm in class until 10 pm, so I'm hoping this will tide everyone over until I can get back on Tuesday. In any case, here's to more questions than answers.**

* * *

The warmth of the sun on his shell woke Raph up. For a long moment, he just lay with his eyes closed, trying to figure out why the sun waking him up was such an oddity. Suddenly, Raph's eyes jerked open, and he took in the scene around him. The reason the sun had disturbed him so much was because, down in the Lair, it was impossible for the sun to even reach them, barring some horrendous calamity. Sure enough, the turtle found himself lying face down on the rooftop of what he eventually recognized as April's building. As he identified his location, the memory of the previous night came back to him. He and his brothers had been heading home, when that wacked out black mist had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

The thought of his brothers immediately had Raph looking around for them. Spotting them sprawled out around him, Raph began to do a head count. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6…wait, where was number 7? Who was missing? Raph took a closer look at the turtles around him. Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael, with their colored masks, were easy to identify. Therefore, the leather-masked turtle with the bo-staff must be Donny, and this one to Raph's left with the nunchucks was Mikey. So where was Leo? Raph felt ice run down his spine and prick his heart. 'No,' thought to himself. 'No, this couldn't be happening again. We just gotten Leo back; we, I can't lose him again.'

Trying to push his panic back, Raph set out to wake his brothers up. Eventually, all six turtles were awake and trying to shake off the effects of whatever had knocked them out.

"Whoa, what happened," Raphael asked as he tried to clear the cobwebs from his brain.

"Leo's missing," Raph said without preamble, his fear making his tone very curt.

"Wait, what do you mean missing," Raphael said, looking around as if Leo was just lying somewhere out of the younger turtle's sight.

"As in I woke up and he wasn't here," Raph said impatiently.

"Well, maybe he just went for breakfast or something," Michelangelo offered as he yawned.

"Oh, sure, and he just left us lying here unconscious," Raph replied sarcastically.

"Whoa, chill out," Raphael interceded. "Maybe Leo went to get help. You know, since April's apartment is just downstairs."

"Maybe," Raph conceded, though his body language revealed his doubt.

"Listen," Donatello offered. "Why don't I go downstairs and see if Leo's at April's? If he is, I can let him know we're awake."

"And if he's not," Raph challenged.

"Then we'll go from there," Raphael told him. "But let's not go making trouble for ourselves just yet."

TTTT

Trying to move as stealthily as possible in the bright morning sun, Donatello made his way over the fire escape. Silently, he descended, until he reached the windows of April's apartment. Pulling his lock-pick kit from his bag, Donatello expertly jimmied the window open and entered the empty apartment. Making his way over to the spiral staircase that led down to the shop below the apartment, Donatello cautiously stuck his head down through the hole to make sure no customers were in the shop. Upon seeing it was deserted, all except for April, Donatello flipped himself down through the hole.

"Donatello," April exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing here? Don't you know what time it is?"

"I know," the purple-clad turtle told her. "But we had a little 'incident' that night, and now we can't find Leo. We were hoping you'd seen him."

April's eyes became troubled as she said, "Sorry. I haven't seen him since you guys left last night."

Donatello muttered a very un-Donatello-like curse under his breath before saying, "Thanks April. Would you mind keeping an eye out for him anyway? You know, just in case."

"Or course I will. And I'll let Casey know, too."

In the next instant, Donatello was back up the stairs, and headed back to the rooftop.

TTTT

"Leo isn't downstairs, and April hasn't seen him since last night," Donatello reported back to the others.

"And there's no sign of him up here," Raphael said, having taken the time to scout out the rooftop in his brother's absence.

"I knew it," Raph exploded. "Leo's missing again, and…and…"

"And we can't go jumping to conclusions," Donny told his older brother, placing a calming hand on his arm. "This isn't like last time, Raph. Leo didn't go storming off in a temper, and he's completely healed from his wounds, and he's in better shape than ever. He'll be okay."

"So what do we do now," Mikey asked from where he was seated next to Michelangelo.

"First, we report back to Master Splinter," Raphael said, taking command. "He's probably worried sick about us by now. After that, we'll figure out what to do."

Raph looked like he wanted to argue, but Donny squeezed his arm and shook his head. For now, going back to the Lair was their best choice. "Fine," Raph growled. "For now."

TMNTTMNT

The return trip to the Lair was, to say the least, tension filled. Raph, obviously, was not happy to be leaving the scene of Leo's disappearance. Donny, Donatello, Mikey, and Michelangelo were understandably worried, especially given the history of what tended to happen to Leo when he disappeared. Only Raphael seemed unfazed by the situation. However, one look in his story eyes, or a glance at his clenched fists would reveal a far different story.

A very worried Master Splinter met the group as they entered the Lair.

"My sons, I was becoming concerned," he told them. Then he noticed his family was down by one member. "Where is Leonardo?"

"We're not sure, sensei," Donatello told him. Quickly, the purple masked turtle recounted the previous night's events up until they were knocked out by the black mist. "We checked in to see if April had seen him, but nothing," Donatello concluded.

"I do not like the sound of this," Splinter said when his son was finished speaking. "This does not sound like the work of any enemy we have faced before."

"Then we need to go back and look for clues," Raph suddenly exclaimed. "Surely whoever did this left some sort of evidence behind?"

"Raph, my young student, it is too dangerous right now for you to be topside," Splinter countered.

"I don't care," Raph spit back. "This is Leo we're talking about. I…I can't just leave him."

"Your brother would not want you risking yourself or the family to find him," Splinter told him, laying a gentle hand on the troubled turtle's shoulder. "Right now you would better serve your brother by getting something to eat and refreshing yourself. You will want to be at your best tonight when you begin the search for Leonardo."

Raph wanted to argue, that much was clear, but instead he just stepped back and bowed to the elderly rat. Then without another word, he turned and stalked off to his family's suite of chambers. With a quick look at Splinter, Donny and Mikey quickly followed after him. With a sigh, Splinter turned back to his own sons. "I would suggest you three do the same. In the meantime, I will meditate and see if I cannot determine something of your brother's fate."

TMNTTMNT

After retiring to his room, Splinter settled himself on the floor, several meditation candles lit around him. Closing his eyes, he centered himself, and then reached to find his oldest son's mind. Unlike the last time he had attempted to do this, back when Leo was comatose, the turtle's unconscious mind was easy to locate. However, Splinter was unable to get any response from his son. All the Ninja Master knew was that his son was alive. Beyond that, there was nothing to tell him where his son was. Abruptly, a dark cloud seemed to pass over Splinter's mind, forcibly separating him from Leo.

Jerked back to reality, Splinter sat panting for a few moments, trying to determine what had just happened. It was clear that something or someone didn't want him locating his son. Splinter felt his heart seize slightly in his chest, for he had sensed something else in that strange black energy. A malicious will, bent on hurting his oldest child. Splinter found himself praying that they would find Leo soon, before that force could have its will. Still, Splinter couldn't shake the feeling that, no matter how quickly they located their missing family member, it would still be too late.


	5. The Hunt Begins

**A/N Okay, here's the last one for today. Don't get use the triple postings, though. Being back in school like I am means that there won't be many days I can do this. Anyway, here's the start of Leo's ordeal. Poor guy.**

* * *

When Leo returned to consciousness, he had no idea where he was. All he was certain of was that it was extremely chilly, especially for a cold blooded turtle, and that he wasn't back at the Lair. The next things he became aware of were the shackles attached at his wrists and ankles; shackles that were welded to the floor with too short a chain to allow him to gain his feet. Resigned to the fact that he wasn't going anywhere, at least for the moment, Leo closed his eyes and allowed his mind to settle into a meditative state. It wouldn't do to allow himself to get worked up before he knew exactly what was going on.

Leo had been mediating only a few minutes, when the sound of a door screeching open caught his attention. With the extra light coming in through the now opened door, Leo was able to see that he was in some sort of barn-like building, though the usual barn paraphernalia was missing. Leo was actually tied to the floor of what looked like it had once been a stall.

"Good, you're awake," the man who had opened the door said as he approached Leo's prone figure. Leo gave him a good look, sizing him up. The man looked to be in his mid-thirties, though his hair was an odd grey-brown color. He was built a lot like Casey, with heavily muscled shoulders and arms, but the outdoor sporting clothing he wore was something Leo's friend would never allow himself to be caught dead in. What disturbed Leo the most, though, were the man's eyes. They were the pale gray of granite, but with a light of insanity shining from them the made them even eerier to look at.

"What do you want with me," Leo asked, but all he got for his pains was a harsh kick to the stomach. If Leo wasn't accustomed to getting worse from Raphael when they sparred, it might have knocked the breath out of him.

"Shut up, beast," the man growled. "I'll do the talking here. To begin with, my name's James Babbot, and this here is my family's farm. As for where we are, well, you don't need to worry about that, seeing as how you won't be leaving. Now, I'm something of a sportsman; a hunter if you will. And you, my little green friend, are the prey, so listen up. This is how the game goes. In five minutes, your shackles will automatically unlock. From that point, you will get a two hour head start. When those two hours are up, I'll come looking for you. The point of this game is simple: see how long you can avoid me. Oh, there's no escaping this game. We're situated on fifty acres in the middle of nowhere, so I'll catch you eventually. However, the longer you keep away from me, the more merciful the end will be. Think you got that, freak?"

When all Leo did was glare back, James reared back, ready to kick him again. Fortunately, he stopped himself. "No," he told Leo. "It wouldn't do to injure you before the game begins. So I'll just head back to the house. You've got, oh, about four minutes, and then the game is on." And with that, James turned and left the barn.

TTTT

Just as James had said, four minutes later the shackles released themselves, and Leo was free. After first checking to make sure his katanas were still in place, Leo silently took off into the woods. He could only thank his lucky stars that his sensei had made his sons practice stealth in wooded terrain up at Casey's farm. After alternating between jogging on the ground and jumping through the trees, Leo decided he needed to stop and take stock of his situation. Finding a likely tree, Leo settled himself on a branch, and considered his situation. First thing Leo's thoughts went to was the crazy two hour "head start" Babbot had given him. Somehow, Leo knew the insane hunter wouldn't give his prey that much of a fair chance. Searching himself, Leo located a small transmitter hidden under the bottom edge of his shell. This was quickly destroyed. Before Leo started moving again, however, the thought came to him that finding that transmitter was just a little too easy. Leo tried to put himself in his opponent's mind, to determine what he might do if he were in Babbot's place. Or worse, if _Donny _or _Donatello_ were in the madman's place. This led Leo to doing a much more thorough and slower search of his body. Sure enough, there on his left arm was a sore spot Leo knew hadn't been there before. Pulling one of his katanas from its sheath, Leo gritted his teeth and made an incision over the spot. Fortunately, he didn't have to go very deep, and he soon had the subcutaneous transmitter removed.

'Amateur,' Leo thought as he crushed the small transponder. He then removed a roll of bandages from the small pouch the Genius twins had started insisting all the turtles carry with them. Leo was glad the nut job hunting him was in this for the sport, and had left Leo his gear; it wouldn't do to leave a blood trail behind. After binding up the cut, Leo set off again, keeping with his practice of mixing his path between the ground and the trees. He wanted to put as much distance between himself and Babbot as he could, drawing the crazed man out away from the house, before he turned and headed back toward the house himself. If Babbot was telling the truth about how large the property was, and Leo suspected he was, then Leo's only true hope of getting away was to return to the homestead and attempting to steal a vehicle. But before he did that, he wanted as much distance between Babbot and the house as possible.

TMNTTMNT

From inside the house, Babbot watched as his trackers indicated that the turtle was headed east, away from the house. Babbot was a little surprised at how quickly the creature moved; from the looks of it, one wouldn't expect it to be that nimble, especially not with that shell on its back. After a few minutes, however, the turtle came to a halt. James wasn't all that surprised when the external tracker he'd planted on the turtle went off line. After all, that's the reason he implanted the second, subcutaneous transmitter as well. When that one disappeared off the scanner as well, James gave a little bark of laughter.

"So, this thing's smarter than I thought," he said aloud. "Good, then that means I'll get a good hunt after all. And when I'm done with the green freak, Pete can play with him to his heart's content." And with that, James grabbed his hunting rifle and went to gather his hunting dogs. Sure he'd told the turtle he'd get two hours, but James Babbot was a psychopath; his word meant absolutely nothing.

TMNTTMNT

After what Leo knew was less than an hour, he could hear the distant sound of dogs baying. "Why am I not surprised," Leo asked the empty air. After all, he recognized that Babbot was loony, so it was no real surprise that he wouldn't keep his word. Picking up his pace, Leo kept moving expertly through the trees, until his path was intercepted by his worst nightmare: a large, overgrown, open field.

"Ah, shell," Leo hissed at seeing the exposed expanse. Here Leo was faced with two choices. He could either go right or left, sticking to the trees and hoping that there was better way across, or he could head out across right here, and hope he could find more cover on the other side before Babbot and his dogs arrived. After weighing his options, Leo finally decided to risk the field. After all, his plan was to draw Babbot away from the farm house, and the only way to do that was to keep moving forward.

Climbing as high as he dared, Leo leapt from the tree, somersaulting through the air to land as far from the tree line as possible. After all, he didn't want to make this any easier on Babbot that it already was. Once he landed, Leo took off across the field, running in a zigzag pattern, much like a hare trying to confuse a predator. He was almost all the way across the field, and could see the far tree line just ahead, when his foot came down on something man-made hidden in the grass. Leo didn't have time to register what had happened, when a loud _snap/crack_ sounded, and fire blazed through his right leg.

Choking back a scream, Leo looked down to see his leg caught in a shiny, though well hidden, bear trap. The illegal device was digging into the flesh of his leg, causing blood to run freely from the wounds caused by the teeth of the trap. Forcing back the pain, Leo removed one of his katakana's and, inserting the blade between the two sides of the trap's jaw, began to pry it open. The agony of the teeth coming free of his leg was almost enough to make the turtle lose his grip, but he hung tight. He knew he was lucky the blasted thing hadn't broken his leg the first time; there was no telling the damage it would inflict if allowed to slip and snap shut a second time.

At last free of the accursed trap, Leo began making his way slowly across the field, but not before burying the trap beneath a pile of moldering grass and weeds. The smell of the decaying plant matter wouldn't put the dogs off for long, but maybe it would buy him a little time. Limping, and on the lookout for more traps, Leo eventually made it to the other side of the field. Settling beneath a tree, Leo removed a pressure bandage from his pouch, once again thanking Donny and Donatello for their foresight. After making sure the bleeding was under control, Leo hoisted himself into a tree and continued on his way. Being wounded had made survival that much harder, but Leo was determined to win. After all, he had a family to get back. Gritting his teeth against the pain, Leo headed further into the woods.


	6. Falling Apart

**A/N Okay, so I fibbed. I just couldn't leave this story alone. So, here's the next chapter. Hmmm, something interesting happenes with Raph. Wonde what it means for the future. Guess we'll just have to wait and find out.**

* * *

Back at the Lair, Raph was busy beating the stuffing out the punching bag in his room. He'd tried relaxing as Master Splinter had suggested, but had been unable to. With too much nervous energy to burn, he'd turned his attention to the bag to work some of it off. It was much better than the alternative, which was sitting around thinking about all the ways Leo could be hurt or dying right about now.

Out in the common room, Donny and Mikey waited until the sound of flesh meeting nylon ceased before entering their brother's room. Once there, they found Raph sitting spraddled on the floor, looking like a puppet with its strings cut.

"Hey, bro, you okay," Mikey asked, moving to sit next to his big brother on the floor. In a display of vulnerability his alternate never would have been able to show, Raph laid his head on Mikey's shoulder and took a deep, shuddering breath.

"I can't do this," he told his brothers, his voice distraught. "We lost Leo once, and I nearly lost it. Then we got him back, only to lose him a second time, and it almost killed me. But, thanks to whatever deity exists out there, we got him back again. But, what if third time's the charm, and we don't got a third miracle? I can't lose him for good, not after being teased with a glimmer of life with him back."

Donny placed a comforting hand on his brother's shell. "You can't think that way," he told Raph. "Leo's proven he's a survivor; he beats the odds. This won't be any different, you'll see."

Pulling away from Mikey, Raph moved over to his bed and pulled something from beneath his pillow. Turning back to his brothers, he held the item out. "I was planning on giving this to Leo when we got home from the party," he said. Donny took the item from his brother to exam it closely. It was a new mask. The portion of the mask that fit over the eyes was done in beautiful dark brown leather, soft and supple to the touch. Instead if the usual leather ties, however, the ties of this mask were make of blue silk, much like the masks Leo's original brothers wore.

"It's beautiful," Donny told Raph as he handed the mask to Mikey to look at.

"It was supposed to be symbolic, you know," Raph admitted a little sheepishly. "The leather is obviously us, Leo's new family. The silk ties, though, came from his old mask, representing his old family. Since we've come together to form a new whole, I thought the mask would be appropriate."

"Leo's going to love it," Mikey said, handing the mask back to Raph.

"Assuming we find him alive," Raph replied pessimistically. This time it was his turn to be unceremoniously thumped over the head by an irritated Mikey.

"No more negative talk like that," he told his older brother. "We're going to find Leo, and he'll be just fine."

"We'll see," Raph said as he climbed to his feet to return the mask to its hiding place beneath his pillow. He had just turned away from the bed, when he suddenly collapsed with a strangled scream, clutching at his right leg.

"Raph," Donny and Mikey cried, rushing to his side.

"What happened, bro," Mikey asked as Donny gently pulled his hand away from the leg he was clutching.

"I…I don't know," Raph gasped. "I was fine one minute, and the next it was like something was ripping into my leg." But even as he said the words, Raph knew he was mistaken. It wasn't his leg that was in such agony. Somehow, someway, Raph _knew_ it was Leo's pain he was feeling. In that one instant of blinding anguish, Raph had sensed his brother's presence as clearly as if the older turtle was standing in the room with them.

"Well, I don't see anything," Donny said, finishing his examination of his brother's leg. "Maybe it was a muscle cramp or spasm."

"No," Raph countered. "It's Leo; he's hurt, and somehow I'm picking up on it."

"Leo," Donny scoffed. "That's impossible."

Raph didn't say anything to contradict his brother's disbelief. He knew that if he hadn't experienced it for himself, he wouldn't believe it either. But he had felt it, and regardless of his brother's doubt, Raph knew Leo was hurt and in serious trouble.

TMNTTMNT

That night, the entire family returned to the rooftop where they had last seen Leo; everyone, including Master Splinter. For reasons he refused to explain, the turtles' sensei said it was essential that he go with them.

Upon reaching the top of April's building, the six turtles set about looking for any physical evidence that would explain where Leo had been taken, or who had grabbed him. Splinter, in the mean time, sat himself down in the middle of the roof and entered a light meditative trance. Immediately, he was inundated with the same malicious feeling, though greatly muted, that had forcibly separated him from his son earlier that day.

"My sons and students," he called, summoning the turtles to gather around him. "I must tell you of what I have learned this day. There is a dark and evil force at work here, intent upon your brother's destruction. I feel we must find him quickly if we are to save him."

"The Shredder," Raphael growled. "I bet this is his work."

"No," Raph disagreed. "It's something else."

"How would you know," Raphael asked contemptuously. "Leo appear to you in a dream and tell you?"

"In a manner of speaking," Raph replied. He described the experience he'd had earlier that day. While Master Splinter seemed to be taking the younger turtle seriously, Raphael certainly wasn't.

"How pathetic," he sneered. "Are you so desperate to have your way you had to come up with that stupid little daydream? What a loser!"

"I'll show you a loser," Raph snapped, and he charged at the older turtle. Fortunately his younger brothers were able to stop him before he could reach his target. On the other side, Donatello and Michelangelo were trying to hold Raphael back, who was taunting his younger version: "Bring it on punk."

"Raphael," Splinter snapped, but it was no use. The red-masked turtle had pulled away from his brothers and was headed for the edge of the rooftop.

"I've had enough of this crap," he said. "I'm gonna go pay old Tin Head a visit and see if I can't figure out where he's got Leo hidden away. You chumps can just stay here with the crybaby. Sounds like he needs someone to hold his hand." And with that, Raphael disappeared off into the night.

"Don't worry, sensei," Donatello reassured his father. "Michelangelo will follow him and make sure he stays out of trouble." And with that, Splinter's two youngest sons disappeared into the night after their brother.

Shaking his head at his second son's impetuousness, Splinter turned back to his second set of sons. Raph had finally settled down enough that his brothers had released him, but he was by no means calm.

"Raph, please, tell me again what you experienced earlier today," Splinter requested of his oldest son's best friend.

"I'm sorry, sensei, but not right now," Raph replied. "I need to be out there looking, even if Leo's not still in the city, which I doubt he is. Still, maybe I'll find some clue where he's gone." He moved away from the old rat, but turned around to face him once more. "Raphael's wrong, you know," he said quietly. "Shredder doesn't have Leo."

"I know, young one," Splinter whispered into the night as the three younger turtles likewise disappeared into its shadowy embrace. "I just hope we figure out who does before this family once again collapses."

Looking up into the star-filled sky, Splinter said, "Stay safe, Leonardo. Please try to stay strong. You are the linchpin that keeps this family together. Without you, I fear we will only fall apart."


	7. Almost, But Not Quite

**A/N Sorry if there are too many spelling/grammar errors here. I have to leave for class, but I wanted to get the next chapter up before I went. Enjoy. Oh, and just to tell you, no actual dogs were killed in the making of this chapter. Their stunt doubles performed all the action scenes, and then they went on to have roles in well recieved family movies. ;)**

* * *

As it started to become dark, Leo began looking for a place to hole up for the night. Under other circumstances he might have been tempted to keep moving, given that as a turtle his night vision was naturally better than his human pursuer, and because as a ninja Leo was quite accustomed to maneuvering through the dark. Two things prevented him from making that choice tonight, however. First was his wounded leg; it was extremely painful, and Leo welcomed the chance to get off of it, even if only for a few hours. Secondly was the time of year. With it being fall, as the sun began to sink, so did the temperature. His system already slightly compromised by the wound to his leg, added to his natural cold-blooded nature, Leo knew he would be putting himself at risk to continue on in the cold of the night. No, it would be far better if he stopped now and found a place to hide, even if only for a couple of hours.

Looking around him, Leo debated between the safety of trying to sleep up in a tree, versus the potential for greater warmth if he slept on the ground. Eventually, Leo settled on the tree. True, it wouldn't be nearly as warm or comfortable, but if Babbot continued his hunt into the night (something Leo was praying desperately that he wouldn't do), then there was less chance he would get spotted if he were up in a tree. Besides, he didn't want to get caught cornered and unaware on the ground if Babbot were to come upon him during the night. Leo was lucky in that, since this was private land, there were a number of ancient evergreen trees, with branches still covered in green foliage large enough for him to rest as least semi-securely on. Choosing a likely tree, Leo took out his katanas and began creating a nest of evergreen boughs. This was intended to serve two purposes: to hide him should Babbot pass by in the night, and to insulate the turtle at least somewhat against the cold night air.

His task completed the best of Leo's ability, the turtle returned his katanas to their sheaths; only, the left one refused to slide properly into place. Puzzled, Leo removed the sheath from his back. Setting the sword on the branch beside him, Leo turned the sheath upside down and shook it gently. Into his hand fell a small, oddly shaped package. Slowly unfolding the unexpected find, Leo couldn't help but smile at the irony. In his hand was one of the emergency foil camping blankets; the ones used to preserve body heat should one get lost in the wilderness. What Leo couldn't figure out was how it had gotten into his sheath in the first place.

No sooner had the thought passed through his mind than Leo was hit by an apparent vision. As clearly as if he was standing back in the Lair watching them in person, Leo watched as the Brats approached his equipment, the small package in Mikey's hand. Leo knew without being told that the two turtles had found all of Donny and Donatello's worries about Leo becoming too cold rather humorous, and so had planned to place the emergency blanket in Leo's pouch of first aid supplies as a joke. Before they could do so however, they heard someone coming, and rather hurriedly stuffed the package down inside Leo's sheath instead. Just then, Leo saw himself enter the room and give his two too innocent looking brothers a probing look before dressing. To all appearances, this had taken place the night of the party, which would explain why Leo hadn't found the blanket until now; he hadn't used that particular katana until tonight when he was hacking down branches for his bed.

A small grin on his face, Leo wrapped himself up in the blanket, careful to make sure the reflective foil could not be seen through the screen of his evergreen bed. As Leo drifted off to sleep, the residual feel of his brothers' love, coming from the blanket, did more to keep Leo warm that night than the blanket on its own ever could.

TMNTTMNT

When Leo next awoke, he was surprised to find the sun just barely peeking through the trees. If he had been asked the night before, he would have bet on either his inability to sleep the whole night through, or on Babbot's finding him, despite his precautions. Well, Leo decided, he was grateful that whoever or whatever was responsible for looking after the welfare of teenage mutant ninja turtles had decided to keep a close eye on him last night. Gingerly, for his leg was still exceedingly sore, Leo leapt to the ground. He was in the process of folding the emergency blanket back up to store in his first aid pouch, when the sound of dogs howling reached his ears, _much_ closer than they had been the day before. Leo cursed silently to himself. Either Babbot had spent the night out here, or he'd gotten an early start this morning for him to be so close. With no time to waste, Leo dropped the blanket and took off further into the woods. He knew the blanket would provide a great hint that Babbot was on the right track, but as close as Babbot already was Leo doubted that the crazed tracker would really need it.

After dodging around trees on the ground for a few yards, Leo took to the trees once more. That was slower going, but at least it might confuse the dogs at least a little bit. Besides, Leo decided, he was only going to continue in this same direction for just a few hours more. Hopefully by then he would have led Babbot far enough away from the house that Leo would be able to back track some and make his run towards the house without Babbot being the wiser.

TTTT

Two hours later, James Babbot found himself somewhere between admiring his prey, and hating its guts. This was the first time since James had turned his own older brother loose in his playing field that someone had managed to avoid capture before nightfall. And although he knew he was closer than he'd been the day before, James acknowledged that he was nowhere near cornering his quarry. Still, the hunter knew it was only a matter of time. After all, he'd found his beautiful little trap back in the field, fresh blood still staining its teeth. The turtle was seriously wounded, and by the end of the day the creature would be feeling the affects of a second day without food or water. And without that hand-dandy little emergency blanket he'd found a ways back, after tonight, which was forecasted to be the coldest yet this season, the cold-blooded reptile would certainly be suffering from exposure. A cold, bloodthirsty grin on his face, James pushed onward, deeper into the woods.

TTTT

Two hours later, Leo made a turn away from his easterly course toward the north. His tentative plan was to travel this direction for a while, before heading back toward the west. He was hoping that by doing this he might be able to skirt around that blasted open field that had caused him so much trouble the day before. Unbeknownst to Leo, however, his leg wound had opened up once more, due to the exertion he was putting forth, and the bandage had soaked through with blood, which meant he was leaving a very clear trail of smudged blood behind him; a trail that Babbot's dogs had found with no difficulty, and now were tracking with expert ease.

TTTT

Leo timed his arrival back at the meadow for just before dusk. Having been unable to find a way around the blasted clear space, Leo had decided that this would be the best time of day to make his way back across. It would still be light enough for him to be able to look out for anymore nasty little surprises, but the waning light would make it difficult for the nutcase following him to see him clearly. As for the dogs, well, Leo had a _permanent_ solution for getting them off his trail if it came to that.

He was, once again, across the accursed expanse when trouble hit. From behind him came the sounds of barking and growling; and they were coming fast. Swiftly considering his choices, Leo decided to make his stand where he was. Moving the trees would only inhibit his swords. He had barely had time to brace himself, when the three dogs came flying out of the grass. The first dog was dispatched with ease, a single slice of his katana cutting through its jugular as it jumped at him. The other two dogs, however, proved far more difficult. Attacking en masse, Leo was only able to stop one of them before the other latched onto his left forearm with his teeth. Leo could feel that the animal's bite was deep, as its teeth were grating against the bones of his arm.

With a strangled cry, Leo raised his good arm and quickly stabbed it into the creature's head, right where the spine and the skull came together, killing the animal instantly. Still, even with the unfortunate animal dead, Leo had to pry its jaw apart in order to free his arm. Leo didn't have time to stop and regain his breath, for no sooner had he freed himself, than the dirt at his fit was kicked up by a bullet. Acting on instinct, Leo turned and dove for the cover of the trees. He almost made it; a bullet caught him in the upper shell, directly in line with the old shoulder wound he'd arrived with in his new family's dimension nearly two years ago. At that point, Leo gave up on stealth. From now on, this was going to be a race to determine just who was faster, and now triply wounded, Leo was beginning to have doubts about his ability to win.


	8. Oops, It Happened Again

**A/N Wow, my longest chapter yet. I'm not sure how clear it is, especially the scene with, well, you'll see. In anycase, since I have a hard time with battle sequences, I'm kinda saving up for the final showdown at the end of the story. And please go easy on Raphael. As we all know, he had difficulties expressing his emotions, so things are a little rough on him right now. Unfortunately, things sometimes have to get worse before they can get better. Still, hope you enjoy this chapter. **

* * *

Donatello and Michelangelo caught up with their older brother, surprisingly enough, at the base of April's building.

"Who, dude, I thought you'd be long gone by now," Michelangelo exclaimed as he came along side Raphael. The red-masked turtle shrugged.

"I figured you two would be coming after me, so I decided I'd make it easy for you to find me," he said. "Besides, I'm gonna need some help."

"You're not really going to try and confront Shredder on your own are you," Donatello asked. "I mean, no offense, but it usually takes Leo or Master Splinter to handle Saki."

"Do I really look that stupid," Raphael asked his brothers and they began to make their way to the closest manhole cover. "I have no real intention of actually confronting Saki at all if I can help it."

"Then what—" Mikey started to ask, but Raphael continued like his youngest brother hadn't said a word.

"I intend to track down Hun and plant one of the Geek twins' new audio transmitters on him. I figure if I lay the groundwork, Hun will report back to his boss that we're looking for Leo, and hopefully we'll get a clue about where Leo's being held."

"Nice plan," Donatello said, just a touch sarcastically. "But two questions: Where are you going to find Hun, and how are you going to plant the transmitter without him squashing you?"

Raphael gave his brothers a cheeky smile. "I already know where to find Hun; at the Purple Dragons' headquarters. As for keeping him from turning me into a turtle pancake, like he's good enough to do that. Besides, that's what you and Michelangelo are around for."

Donatello just gave his brother a disgusted shake of the head, but he followed him through the sewers nonetheless.

TTTT

Arriving at the warehouse that doubled as the headquarters for the Purple Dragons, the three brothers found that yes, indeed, Hun was there. What they weren't expecting, however, was that the Shredder was there in person as well. Apparently they were having some sort of graduation ceremony, and Saki had come to welcome several new initiates into the ranks of the Foot.

"Oh, no," Donatello said, sizing up the crowd present in the warehouse. "We are not going in there. It'd be a slaughter, and we're the ones who'd get smeared."

"Chill, bro," Raphael replied. "I wasn't planning on going in right this minute. I figure that once the ceremony is done, the ugly Tin Man reject from an Oz horror movie will send his little minions out for some mischief to initiate the newbies. Once they're gone, we can go in and confront him personally."

"Hello, earth to Raphael," Mikey said. "Have you lost your mind completely? Remember our little talk about **not** facing Saki without at least Leo or Master Splinter with us? He'd be enjoying turtle soup before we could even get the question out."

"Guys, come on," Raphael wheedled. "It will be three on one; we've got the numbers in our favor. What could go wrong?"

"I hate it when you say that," Donatello muttered, but he settled down to wait with his brothers nevertheless.

TMNTTMNT

Half an hour later, the warehouse was empty once more, save for Saki and a handful of his personal flunkies. At Raphael's word, the brothers moved in. Working together, the three turtles quickly cut their way through the Foot ninjas, and were face-to-face with their arch-nemesis. The metal-clad warlord gave them a disdainful look.

"Oh, look," he said dismissively. "The second string. I'm sorry, freaks, but I don't have time to teach you a lesson tonight." Saki turned to walk away.

"Hold it you can-opener wanna-be," Raphael growled. "You're not going anywhere until we get some questions answered!" And with that, he launched himself at the retreating figure. Stepping aside at the last moment, Saki allowed the turtle to go flying past him, only to bring his gauntleted fist down hard across his shell, sending Raphael crashing painfully to the floor. Raphael immediately rolled to his feet and, pulling his weapons, stood to face the Shredder.

"Just give Leo back to us, and we'll call it even. This time," Raphael told his opponent.

Saki gave him a disdainful look. "I have no idea what you're babbling about," he said. "If you've managed to misplace that highly infuriating brother of yours, don't go placing the blame on me. I had nothing to do with it."

"You're lying," Raphael screamed, and he threw himself at his enemy. Raphael, however, was no Leo, and Saki was easily able to block his every blow. Finally, growing tired of the nuisance, the Shredder kicked the Sais from his opponent's hands, and grabbed his throat in a tight, almost crushing grip.

"Ah, ah, ah," he told Donatello and Michelangelo as they moved to assist their brother. "One more step and I really will crush his throat. Now, I will repeat again, I do not have your meddlesome brother. Believe me; you would already know if I did, for I'd be dropping his mangled corpse at your feet. However, the news that he is missing is very interesting. Perhaps I will go looking for him myself; once I get rid of the three of you, that is." His hand began to tighten around Raphael's throat. The turtle began to fight futilely against the hand slowly choking the life from him. Just as his eyesight began to dim, however, a gray and red streak suddenly slammed into Saki, forcing him to release his grip. Raphael collapsed, wheezing, to his knees, only to have Donatello and Michelangelo immediately at his side. With their assistance, Raphael was able to stand up. He turned to find Master Splinter, walking stick in hand, standing defiantly between his hated enemy and his sons. What Raphael hadn't expected to see were the three other turtles acting as his father's rearguard.

Saki gave the ancient rat a look of utter loathing. A few more minutes, and he'd have been rid of this annoying thorn in his side. He might have been tempted to push his luck anyway, had it only been the rat and the three of his remaining brood. The addition of the three strange turtles, however, had Saki deciding to err on the side of caution.

"You've saved your brat this time, rodent," he snarled. "But that's alright. I've learned some very interesting information tonight, so all has not been a total waste." And with that, Shredder tossed a smoke pellet at the turtles and disappeared into the night.

Splinter turned to face his second oldest son. "Are you all right," he asked, concerned.

"I'll be fine," Raphael croaked.

"Very well. Let us return home," Splinter said. "We'll talk in the morning."

As the family slowly made their way home, Raphael couldn't battle his troubled thoughts. He'd been so sure that Shredder had Leo, but Saki had been genuinely surprised to hear that Leo was missing. Which begged the question: If Saki didn't have Leo, who did?

TMNTTMNT

The next morning Master Splinter allowed his family to sleep in. After the tension and events of the night before, his boys needed their rest. Thus it was nearly ten o'clock before the first turtle, Donny, showed his face in the kitchen.

"Good morning sensei," he said around a yawn.

"Good morning my student," Splinter replied. "Have you seen your brothers yet this morning?"

"Mikey was beginning to stir when I went by his room, but Raph is still completely knocked out," Donny told him. "I don't figure we'll see him until later this afternoon."

"Yes, I feel it will be much the same for my Raphael as well. For the meantime, then, why don't we have a cup of tea together, and you can find you something for breakfast. When your brothers awake, we will have much to discuss."

TTTT

The rest of the family didn't actually make it out of bed until well after noon, and the sun was just beginning to go down (had they been able to see it), when Master Splinter called all six turtles together.

"My family," he told them once the whole group was assembled. "I know this is difficult for all of you. You all care very deeply for your brother, but we must work together if we are going to find him."

"Like we need _their_ help," Raphael sneered, looking at the family's three youngest members.

"You really are a menace," Raph hissed back, taking a step towards his double. "I should have just kept on going when Master Splinter came after us last night to secure our assistance in making sure the three of you didn't get your shells kicked."

"Maybe you should have," Raphael replied, also advancing. "It's not like you're helping, what with your sad little story about 'sensing' Leo's pain. What a load of—"

"Raphael," Splinter exclaimed. "I will not tolerate such language in this household."

Raphael just snorted derisively, but he refrained from saying anything further. Sighing, Splinter tried once more to get his family to see reason.

"My sons, my students, please," he said. "We must—"

This time it was Splinter who got cut off, as Raph suddenly screamed and grabbed at his left arm. For a split second, there before everyone's eyes, Raph's arm appeared to be covered in blood, the flesh raggedly torn, as if from a dog bite. Then, just as quickly as it had come, the image was gone, and Raph's arm was back to normal, though he could still feel the residual pain. Instinctively, Donny and Donatello moved in to examine the arm, although it was clear there was nothing to see.

"Is this what took place yesterday," Splinter asked the three younger turtles.

"Sort of," Donny replied as his double took a closer look at the now unblemished limb. "We didn't get the crazy visual effects the first time."

Cradling his arm to his chest, and with tears pooling in his eyes, Raph, leaned against his brother's plastron, and Donny instinctively put an arm around his brother, holding him close. Raising his eyes to meet his senseis', Raph said, "Leo's hurt; worse this time."

"I can't believe you're falling for this," Raphael exploded incredulously.

"Uh, hello," Michelangelo told his older brother. "Were you on some different planet when that just happened?"

"Oh, I saw it," Raphael replied. "I'm just buying into this whole 'channeling Leo' thing like the rest of you. I mean, come on. Why is Mr. Kiss-up over there the only one who's experienced this? I'm not gonna be convinced until someone other than junior over there has a similar experience."

No sooner had the words left his mouth, than both Mike and Michelangelo cried out, and simultaneously grabbed for their left shoulders. Their brothers immediately rushed to their aid.

"Ah, shit. Sorry, sensei," Michelangelo hissed, "but that hurts."

"Feels like…like a gunshot," Mikey added.

"Actually, that's what it looks like, too," Donny said as he was examining the small hole in his brother's shell. A hole that, unlike Raph's bloody arm, didn't disappear after a few seconds. "This shouldn't be possible."

"Ah, but as the Bard stated: 'there are more things in heaven and earth…than are dreamt of in your philosophy,' (1)" Splinter quoted. "As you should know, young one, not everything has an explanation."

"Well, all I know," Michelangelo told his family, "is that I **know** I felt Leo. Like Raph said, he's hurt. Some bastard, sorry again Master Splinter, caught him in the shoulder; the same one he cut two years ago."

"And Leo's scared," Mikey added softly, his face showing his anxiety. "Wherever Leo is, he's worried he won't make it back to us."

"No, I refuse to believe this," Raphael suddenly exclaimed. "I can't believe I'm sitting here letting you hoodwink me into believing that we're suddenly picking up on Leo's wounds. It's crazy, and I'm getting out of here so I don't have to hear anymore of this."

"Raphael," Donatello called after his brother as the second oldest stormed away, but his father stopped him.

"Let him go, my son. Your brother is afraid for Leo, and there is nothing he can do to help. Even worse, he has been forced to acknowledge that Leo is in pain, and he is helpless to put an end to it. So for now, let him go. Some time topside will allow him to clear his head. In the meantime, let's get Mikey and Michelangelo to the infirmary. You will want to further inspect those gunshot wounds, and I will once more meditate on the situation. Perhaps by the time Raphael returns, we will have a better idea of what our next step must be."

* * *

(1) This quote is taken from Shakespeare's _Hamlet_, just in case you didn't know. :) 


	9. The Nightmare Continues

**A/N Oh, boy. If you hated James, wait until you see what Peter has planned for our poor turtle. Oh, and a correction for the previous chapter: it should have been the right shoulder Mikey and Michelangelo grabbed, since that's the one Leo originally had wounded in Blended Family. Beyond that, hope you enjoy this. Don't worry, there's a hint here that things might be looking up for our boy here soon. ;)**

* * *

Leo moved as quickly through the woods as his wounded body would allow, until he just couldn't take another step. Pausing to catch his breath, Leo was relieved to hear no sounds of pursuit coming from behind him. As the adrenaline began to fade, though, the pain from his mangled arm and wounded shoulder began to catch up with him. Knowing there wasn't a whole lot he could do for the shoulder wound, once again hidden beneath his shell as it was, Leo decided to focus on the bite wound on his arm. Diving once more into the Genius Twins' bag of tricks, Leo pulled out his last roll of bandages. He regretted that he had nothing with which to disinfect the wound, but he had to get the bleeding under control. Using his good hand and his teeth, Leo was able to eventually get the wounded arm wrapped. That accomplished, he set off once more. He doubted it would take Babbot long to figure out where Leo was headed, and the turtle didn't want to give him the chance to get ahead of him.

As the night wore one, and the temperature continued to drop, Leo knew he was in trouble. Not only was he beginning to run a fever, but he was at a definite risk for hypothermia. He was already shivering steadily, and his hands were becoming increasingly numb. How he regretted the loss of the emergency blanket at that moment. Still, there was no help for it; all Leo could do was keep pushing onward and hope he could get away from the crazed psycho on his tail. Leo's stomach chose that moment to remind his of yet another concern. He'd had nothing to eat for nearly forty-eight hours, and it was beginning to take its toll on him. Even more threatening was the lack of water intake, and Leo already had a headache warning him that he was beginning to suffer from mild dehydration. Once again, Leo was forced to put the concern aside, seeing as how he had no way at present to counter the problem.

Leo pushed on for several hours, his response to the cold growing increasingly worse. His shivering had increased in intensity, and his ability move easily had become compromised as his muscles no longer responded properly, as evidenced by his stumbling movements. Even worse, Leo recognized, was the muddled state of his thoughts, as he ceased to be able to think clearly. Perhaps this is why, when he finally stumbled through out of the trees and into the front yard of the Babbot homestead, all Leo could do was stare at his surroundings in bewilderment. Regrettably, that mindless pause proved to be his downfall. From behind him, Leo heard the snap of a stick being stepped on, but neither his thoughts nor his body were moving fast enough to respond. Instead of moving away from the noise as common sense would have demanded, Leo turned to see what was causing it. The last thing he saw was the butt of Babbot's hunting rifle descending toward his head.

TMNTTMNT

Peter came to join his brother who was standing on the front porch of the house, the unconscious turtle, already stripped of his belongings, lying at his feet.

"So, tell me brother," Peter drawled. "Was he as satisfactory a hunt as you'd hoped?"

Babbot gave his younger brother a self-satisfied smile. "Oh, he very much exceeded my expectations. He got caught in one of the bear traps, spent the night out in the cold, and still managed to avoid me for nearly two full days _and_ take down my best three hunting dogs. It was the most fun I've had in ages."

"I see," Peter said, his voice revealing his distaste for his brother's form of entertainment. "And just what do you plan on doing with that." By "that" he meant Leo's mask, swords, and other gear.

"The mask I'm keeping as a trophy, since you won't let me take its head," Babbot replied. "As for the rest of it, well, I know a guy in the city who can help me get top dollar for it."

"How wonderful for you," Peter replied caustically. "Well, before you go celebrate, help me get my new pet into its pen. I need to get it cleaned up before it awakens."

With a shrug, Babbot easily picked Leo's unconscious body up, slung it over his shoulder, and followed his brother into the depths of the house.

TMNTTMNT

The only good thing Leo could say about his next awakening was a) he was no longer cold, and b) he was no longer in pain. Beyond that, Leo wasn't certain that his situation hadn't gone from bad to worse. First of all, the brightly lit, white-walled room certainly wasn't the Lair, and secondly, the familiar comfort and weight of both his mask and katanas were missing. For some reason, it was this last that made Leo the most uncomfortable.

Trying to get a better idea of where he was, Leo attempted to stand up, only to find he couldn't. To his horror, he found he was strapped into some kind of harness that kept his arms tied in such a way that they couldn't move much more than four or five inches from his body, which meant he couldn't use them to push himself up from off his stomach, which was how he was currently situated. Although feeling very vulnerable, for he truly was unable to defend himself while strapped into this horrible contraption, Leo forced himself not to panic. If he was going to get out of this, he had to be thinking clearly. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of an automatic door swishing open, and foot steps entering the room.

The man who entered the oldest turtle's field of vision appeared to be in his late twenties, early thirties, with red hair a touch more "carroty" than April's. He was slenderly built, with something of the Genius twins' scientific air about him. What disturbed Leo most, though, were his eyes. Although the packaging was different, the stranger before him had Babbot's crazy, light gray eyes.

"Ah, good, you're awake," the man said in what, at least to Leo anyway, was a rather prissy voice. "That means we can get started."

"Started with what," Leo croaked, only to have his entire body come alive with pain along what felt like every nerve ending in his body.

"You will not speak without permission," the prissy little man hissed. "You see, the collar you are wearing," (Leo hadn't been aware he was even wearing a collar), " has several tiny leads attached to your spinal cord. When you disobey the rules, I simply press this button," he pointed to a small control on his watch, "and it send a message to the collar to send an electrical charge through your spine."

At last, the pain stopped, but all Leo could do was lay there panting. That didn't seem to bother the mad scientist, who simply attached a leash to the collar around Leo's neck, which he then used to pull Leo to his feet, never minding how it made the turtle choke. With no other choice, Leo was forced to follow along behind the prissy man.

"Now, my name is Peter Babbot," the foppish little freak told Leo has he preceded him down the hall. "You, when you are permitted to speak, may call me 'master.' The rules here are very simple. You will not speak unless commanded to, you will not leave your pen unless on the leash, and you will do whatever you are commanded to by myself. Follow these rules, and you will be well taken care of. Break them, and, well, you've already had a demonstration of what will happen. Now, I'm sure you're hungry, so we'll go get you some breakfast."

Peter led Leo into a well appointed dining room, where a single place setting was already arranged at the table. Taking the seat, Peter ordered Leo to kneel next to the chair. The turtle considered refusing, but he wasn't ready to be punished over something so trivial. Reluctantly, he settled himself on the floor, trying to make himself pretend he was simply waiting for his father's instructions or teachings. The daydream was shattered when a plate of mixed fruit and lettuce was placed before him on the floor. "Eat," Peter commanded him.

At first, Leo was at a loss; then it struck him. This cretin was expecting him to eat like some sort of animal, face first from the plate. The idea so offended Leo that, in spite of his grumbling stomach, he flat out refused to do it.

"Eat," Peter ordered him again, but Leo only glared at him mutinously. Without warning, the pain struck again, this time knocking Leo painfully off his knees. With his hands bound as they were, Leo was unable to catch himself, which made him glad the floor was carpeted, for he struck it rather brutally. When at last the pain cleared, and Leo was able to regain his knees (that took some work), Peter was giving him look of mock regret mixed with sadistic pleasure.

"Very well," the crazy human told Leo. "I was giving you the chance to feed yourself. From now on, you will only eat what I choose to hand feed you. If you do not take the food from my hand, and my hand alone, you will go without. Is that clear?"

With that, Peter plucked one of the strawberries from the plate in front of Leo and held it out to him. Ignoring his humiliation, Leo forced himself to eat the offering. There was a line between self-preservation and stupidity. If Leo had any thoughts of getting out of this nightmare, he had to keep his strength up. With that in mind, Leo continued to make himself eat the food being offered to him by his captor.

TMNTTMNT

The next several days stretch out into one interminable nightmare for Leo. Peter dragged him all over the house, that degrading leash always present. Whenever Peter was sitting, Leo was required to sit at his feet, whereupon Peter would stroke his head and shoulders like he was some sort of dog. The restricting harness never came off, so Leo had difficulties sleeping at night, and taking of "hygiene necessities" meant he was taken outside to "do his business," and allowing Peter to run too familiar hands over his body as he bathed him.

Leo, being who and what he was, fought back every chance and in everyway he could, even though he knew it meant he would be punished. Still, Leo knew his mental health depended on his fighting the degradation being forced upon him. The end result, however, was that Leo was in near constant pain now. Between the aggravation of his wounds, and the abuse his nerves and muscles were receiving from the electrical charge running through them on a regular basis, the turtle's body just **hurt**.

Lying in bed one night, for he wasn't sure anymore how long he'd been in this hellhole, Leo finally allowed the tears to come. He missed his family dreadfully, and although he knew they would never give up searching for him, he wasn't sure what condition _he_ would be in if, no, when they finally found him. Taking comfort in the memories of his beloved brothers, Leo finally drifted off to sleep.

TTTT

It didn't take long for Leo to realize that his dream had returned him home. With a heart that was at once heavy and light, Leo wandered through the familiar rooms. Once again the tears came as he saw his father, looking far more haggard than the last time Leo had seen him, asleep in his bed. Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo likewise brought bittersweet tears as Leo looked in on them, much as he had done when they were growing up. He was headed for his newest brothers' rooms, the rooms he now shared with them, when he came face to face with Mikey. The youngest turtle's eyes went wide when he saw the rather gaunt figure of his oldest brother.

"Leo," he whispered, startling Leo. Before he could respond, though, Mikey demanded, "Bro, where the shell are you? We've been looking all over the city for you."

"I'm somewhere outside the city, in the hands of a loon by the name of Peter Babbot," Leo told him. Suddenly, a black mist obscured Leo's vision of his brother, and he jerked back to awareness in his miserable little cell on the Babbot homestead. Heart aching more than ever from the small taste of paradise he'd been granted, before having it brutally torn away once more, Leo gave in to the sobs he'd been holding back.

TTTT

In the darkest corner of the room, red eyes glowed with pleasure as they watched the turtle at last begin to break.


	10. Stealing What was Wrongfully Stolen

**A/N Not long now; I promise. Things are starting to look up. Oh, and just to relieve everyones' minds about Peter bathing Leo: there's no sexual molesting going on. Peter sees Leo as nothing more than an animals, so it would be like someone bathing their dog. After I went back and re-read that scene, I didn't want to leave anyone with the wrong impression. Anyway, on with the show.**

* * *

The day after Raphael's stormy departure from the Lair was, for the most part, a quiet one. To his father's relief Raphael did take the time to call and report that he would, at least for the next several days, be staying with April and Casey. This news actually eased his father's mind. Splinter knew that spending time with the two humans would be cathartic for his son in several ways. First, his nightly excursions with Casey would permit his action-oriented son to burn off some of his excess stress and fears. Secondly, since Raphael was often more comfortable speaking to April about his feelings, hopefully she would be able to help him through his current emotional conflict; if not, it would at least be helpful for Raphael to have an ear to just listen when he needed it.

In an odd way, the day started off relatively normally, if you ignored the blaring hole Leo's absence created. The family got up and practiced, just like usual, though there was a distinct lack of enthusiasm. Following practice, Donny and Donatello dragged the Brats (an apt nickname by Splinter's reckoning) into their lab to further examine their previously damaged shells. They could no long inspect the bullet holes themselves, for they had vanished a few hours after appearing. Still, that didn't prevent Splinter's two scientifically inclined pupils from running every sort of test imaginable; at least, every sort of test they could get their excitable brothers to sit still for. As for Raph, he disappeared into his family's suit, though the sound of his hitting his punching bag continued to be heard for hours.

Around eleven, Donny and Donatello emerged from the lab, finally ready to seek breakfast now that their equipment was busy analyzing the test results from their brothers' shells. They had just joined Master Splinter in the kitchen, when suddenly they simultaneously collapsed, screaming. At once, Raph and the Brats came running.

"Donny," Mikey whimpered, sounding very young, as he watched as he older brother lay screaming on the floor. Raph wrapped an arm around Mikey, unable to do anything to help his next younger brother through this current torture.

"What's wrong with them, sensei," Michelangelo asked his father, his tone matching that of his double.

"I am not sure," Splinter told his son, "but I have forced to believe it must have something to do with Leonardo's disappearance."

The look on Michelangelo's face fell even further, if that were possible. Older brother instincts kicking in, Raph immediately dragged him into an embrace as well. Helpless, the family could only watch as two of its members spent several minutes in blazing agony. Eventually the spell passed, but neither Donny nor Donatello were capable of moving. With the Brats' help, Raph was able to assist the two hurt turtles off the kitchen floor and into the living room, where they were immediately settled on the couch.

Once he was recovered enough to talk, Donny told his family, "I understand now. I knew, without any explanation how or why, that I was feeling whatever Leo was. It was like he was right there." Donny's face clouded over at the thought that his beloved oldest brother had faced that pain first hand.

"Well, look on the bright side," Donatello told them. His family gave him a horrified look, so he hastened to explain. "Not that it's a good thing that Leo is being held and tortured somewhere, but it beats, at least marginally, the alternative. He could be—"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence," Raph snapped, his facing going as white as it is possible for a green turtle to go, and Donatello could have smacked himself; Raph's original brother had indeed been forced down that alternate route.

"Sorry," he apologized softly to Raph and the others.

"As horrible as it is, Donatello is correct," Master Splinter said. "Although I do not like knowing my son is in pain, at least we know he is still alive, which means there is still hope that we can find him." Splinter just hoped that they would do so soon; as bad as his sons were reacting to their brother's experience, what would happen to them if Leo were taken from them? It was a thought the old rat didn't want to think about too in depth.

TMNTTMNT

Unfortunately, no clues were forthcoming, and over the next several days the family settled into a pattern of half-existence. Donny and Donatello, between unfortunate and unpredictable bouts of empathic agony, continued to work in the lab, more as a means of keeping busy than doing any real work. The Brats kept each other company, finding a comfort in each other's presence that no one outside of Raph seemed able to provide for them. As for Raph, he was putting on a mother-hen act that would have made Leo proud. He made sure the family ate, got to bed at a decent hour, and pretty much took care of everyone. Splinter had the smile to himself at this difference between Raph and Raphael; although both very much preferred action over words, Raph channeled his energy into caring for him family rather than the acts of controlled violence that worked to relieve Raphael's worry and tension.

As for Raphael, he continued to stay with April and Casey, although he made it a point to call and check in everyday. Splinter did not blame his son for not coming home; the tension in the Lair would have been too much Raphael, and he would only have been tortured with watching his brothers in the grip of an agony he could do nothing to fight. Instead, he did what he could to help April and Casey around the shop and apartment, and then he and Casey spent their evenings on the town, chasing down thugs and over lowlifes.

It was during one such outing, that Raphael came across something that would finally force the turtle back home. It was going on the wee hours of the morning, and Raphael and Casey had chased a purse snatcher into a back alley, where he was quickly subdued. After tying the scoundrel up and putting in a call to the police, the pair headed out of the alley and down the street, the late hour and deep shadows making it unnecessary for Raphael to take to the rooftops. They were almost half a block down the road, when something in the front window of a store across the street caught Raphael's eye. Without a thought, Raphael immediately crossed over. There, proudly displayed, was a pair of sheathed katanas; very familiar katanas. Not stopping to consider his actions, Raph used the hilt of his sai to knock the glass out of the window.

"What—"Casey exclaimed as he watched Raphael completely shatter the window.

"Those are Leo's katanas," Raphael told him as he carefully removed the swords from the display.

"How can you tell," Casey asked.

"I have watched my brother use these weapons for over sixteen years," Raphael told him as he reverently removed the swords from their sheaths to examine the blades. "Trust me, I know."

Deciding to take his friend's word for it, Casey said, "Then I suggest we get moving. The cops are already going to be in the area, and I'm willing to bet there was an alarm on that window you busted."

"Let's head into the sewers," Raphael suggested as he tied the swords to his back. "I need to return these to my father. Besides, I think it's time I go home." With that, he led Casey to the closest manhole, and to the two quickly disappeared down it.

TMNTTMNT

About the same time that Raphael first spotted Leo's swords on display, back at the Lair Mikey was, once again, forced from sleep. This had been occurring almost nightly since Leo disappeared; Mikey would make it almost through the night, only to have nightmares chase him from his slumber in the early hours of the morning. Some mornings the youngest turtle was able to simply roll over and go back to sleep after a few minutes. Other times he was forced to seek out the comfort of one of his older brothers before he could relax enough to sleep once more. This morning, however, Mikey knew there would be no going back to sleep. And since Donny, and more recently Raph, had been vicariously experiencing Leo's torture sessions, he didn't want to wake them from their very necessary sleep. Instead, he decided to get drink of warm milk to see if that help him relax enough to once again go back to sleep.

Silently, Mikey crept from his room and across the family's common room. Quietly opening the door, he made his way into the main chamber of the Lair, only to be pulled up short by what he found. There, standing in the middle of the Lair was Leo; sort of. It was apparent this wasn't the real Leo, because he was kind of glowy and "see-through-y." But there was no denying who the apparition was. Mikey reacted without thinking.

"Leo," he whispered, making the Leo-figure jump with surprise. Not allowing the other turtle to say anything, Mikey demanded, "Bro, where the shell are you? We've been looking all over the city for you."

"I'm somewhere outside the city, in the hands of a loon by the name of Peter Babbot," Leo told him, but before he could say anything else, Leo was gone.

This newest disappearance was too much for the youngest turtle, and without thought or consideration for the time, he screamed, "Leo! No, Leo, come back!"

Within seconds, the distraught turtle was surrounded by his concerned family.

"Mikey," Raph said gruffly, shaking his younger brother lightly, "what's wrong?"

"Leo, I just saw Leo," Mikey babbled, just short of hysterics. "He…he was here and…and…"

"Mikey, calm down," Donny said. "It was just a dream."

"No," Mikey all but screamed. "He was here. I saw him and…"

"What the shell is going on," Raphael asked, concern making his voice harsh as he and Casey came in on the tumultuous scene.

"Apparently Mikey had some sort of nightmare," Donatello told his older brother.

"It was not a nightmare," Mikey yelled. "Why won't you listen to me? I saw a glowy, 'ghosty-Leo' standing right here," he pointed to a spot on the rug. "I asked him where he was, and he said he was being held someplace outside the city by Peter Rabbit."

The room went dead silent, before everyone burst into laughter. Mikey got a hurt look on his face, until he noticed that not everyone was laughing at him; Casey was the only one who seemed to be taking him seriously.

"Uh, guys," Casey said once the laughter had died down. "Now, I don't know anything about apparitions or anything, but there may be something to Mikey's story."

"What, that some fictional children's character somehow came to life and kidnapped our brother," Raphael smirked.

"No, but have you stopped to consider than maybe Mikey's just mangling the name," the human countered. Turning to Mikey, Casey asked, "Mikey, could that name possibly have been Peter _Babbot_?"

"That's it," Mikey exclaimed exultantly. "_That's_ the name Leo told me."

The family turned to look at in surprise Casey. "How'd you know that name," Raphael asked. Casey motioned for them all to take a seat.

"When I was growing up, and I'd go spend time out at my grandparents' place, there was a family that owned a large track of land somewhere on the other side of town. The family, the Babbots, had money, but the townsfolk preferred to not have a whole lot to do with them; at least, not the two youngest boys. You see, there were three Babbot boys: Mark, James, and Peter. Mark, he was a good guy. You know, helpful, kind, well liked. But the other two boys were trouble. James loved to hunt, and more than one pet went missing when he was around. Peter, on the other hand, loved to collect things. He had the brains to be anything he wanted, but he was too lazy. Instead, if you had anything remotely unique or one-of-a-kind, Peter would find some way to buy, steal, or cheat it away from you. Not long after I turned twenty-one, I heard that Mark went missing. The local police suspected James had something to do with his disappearance, but they could never prove anything."

"And these are the bastards who have Leo," Raphael stated after a few minutes of pondering what Casey had just revealed.

"It makes a disgusting amount of sense," Donny said.

"So just where do these Babbot brothers live," Raph asked Casey, who just shrugged.

"I'm not exactly sure," he said. "I didn't have a whole lot to do with 'em. I just know it's someplace near the farm."

"Don't worry," Donatello said. "Now that we have a name, it won't take very long to get an address." And with that, he and Donny hurried to the lab; Mikey and the others were quick to follow them, leaving the "Evil Gemini's" alone together.

With the Genius twins busy getting Leo's location, and no one else around to distract him anymore, Raph was free to notice what exactly his double had across his back. Eyes going wide with a mixture of fear, disgust, and anger, he whispered, "Leo's katanas."

Raphael gave him a sympathetic look; he knew exactly what his double was feeling. "I found them in a storefront display while I was out hunting tonight," he explained. "I figured since they rightfully belong to Leo, it wouldn't be stealing, per se, to take them back."

Raph's face hardened. "You've got that right," he agreed. Silence fell for another moment, before Raph said, "I'm sorry I've given you such a hard time about this. More than anyone I know how hard this has been on you."

Raphael shrugged. "I'm the one who needs to apologize," he said. "I acted like an ass, and I'm sorry I treated you like I did."

"Forgiven," Raph said, and the two turtles shook hands, a hug being a little more bonding that either was comfortable with. Regaining his feet, Raphael removed one of the katanas from his back and handed it over to Raph.

"Here," he said. "I think it fitting that we use these to get our brother back."

Raph gave him a dark, understanding smile. "Oh, yeah," he agreed. "A little ninja-style justice."

Just then, Donny and Donatello came tearing back into the room, leading the pack, a sheet of paper waving in Donatello's hand.

"Got it," he exclaimed to his brothers. An almost visible wave of satisfaction rolled over the family. At long last, they had the means to affect their missing member's rescue. En masse, and without a word, the family made its way toward the elevator that would take them to the garage that housed the Battle Shell; everyone except Splinter and Casey that is.

"Sensei, Casey, aren't you two coming," Mikey asked.

"No, my student," the elderly rat told him. "My instincts are telling me this is something you six must do on your own."

"Yeah, and April would skin me alive," Casey said. "Besides, I'd only slow you guys down."

"Are you sure, sensei," Donatello asked.

"Yes," Splinter told him. "I have only this to tell you. Normally I would not advocate deadly violence. In this instance, however, these monsters have proven to be more than the law can or will take care of. That being the case, you have my blessing to do whatever you see fit to reclaim your brother. Bring him home, my sons; it's time he came back where he belongs."

As a group, the turtles bowed respectively to their teacher, and then they were gone. Their sensei was correct; it was time to bring Leo home.


	11. Eye for an Eye

**A/N Well, the chapter titles should give you a small hint. I will give a small warning, there's a bit more blatant violence in this chapter, though nothing graphic. All I'll say is someone gets something that's been coming to him, and couple of Evil Geminis get a little justice for their brother. For details, though, you'll just have to read. Enjoy the ride.**

* * *

Within five minutes, the brothers were loaded up and on the road. Raphael took the wheel while the other strapped themselves in the back. Well, most of the brothers, anyway. Donny and Donatello were busy making sure they were prepped for possible surgery by checking their stocks of blood, needles, IV equipment, and everything else two turtle geniuses would need to potentially save his brother's life.

"Hey, Donatello," Raphael called from the front seat. "What direction do I need to head?"

"Go like you're going to Casey's farm," his brother replied. "Once we get out of town, I'll give you more precise directions."

"Gotcha," the second oldest replied as he turned his attention back to maneuvering through the less than crowded streets.

"So," Mikey asked aloud. "Do we have an actual plan, or we are going for the 'head on, large scale destruction' kind of approach?"

"That depends," Raph told him from his position in the front passenger seat. "Hey Donny," he called. "Any chance of getting a satellite image of this Babbot place?"

"Already on it," Donny replied. "Give me a few minutes to get through the government's firewalls and I'll have a detailed, 'you can see their nose hairs', image for you."

True to his word, a few minutes later Donny delivered the first image of the Babbot homestead. Raph could clearly see the mile-long driveway headed leading toward the house, closed off by a gate, and, Raph was willing bet, based on what he knew about the Babbot brothers, an electric fence. Beyond that lay the house. Whoa, Donny was right. You cold almost see the exact places the paint was peeling on the weathered building. About twenty yards past the house stood the barn. There was cleared space around the two buildings, obviously fallow fields from when the place was an actual, working homestead, but beyond that all Raph saw was trees. He sat studying the pictures until the family finally cleared the city limits.

Raphael pulled over on the side of the road. "Donatello," he said. "You take over. Raph and I are going to work up a plan of attack. Besides, it'd just be easier for you to drive rather than try and give me directions."

The purple-masked turtle immediately switched places with his brother, and Raph gave up his position as co-pilot to Donny so that he and Raphael could spread the satellite images out in the backseat, careful not to disturb either Mikey or Michelangelo both of whom had fallen back to sleep.

"Well, unless we have to use the Battle Shell to break through the gate, I think we should park it off the road before we reach the driveway, and just move in the rest of the way on foot," Raph told his double.

"Agreed. If it looks like we're going to need it later, i.e. Leo is in bad shape, we can always send some to fetch it. Now, from what we know of these two sickos, there should be two of them, so…"

"So we should probably secure the outer buildings before tackling the main house," Raph finished for him. The two turtles paused and grimaced simultaneously. "Great," Raph scowled. "Now the Geek twins have us doing it. In any case, I thing we'd rather have those building cleared and secured before we find our selves cornered in the house."

"Oh, I'm thinking something a little more permanent that securing the buildings," Raphael told his younger self. "I think it all needs to go, for good. Besides, I've always heard fire is a good way of cleansing the land, and from we know about these creeps, this is definitely some land badly in need of some cleansing."

"I like the way you think," Raph told him with a chilling smile. In perfect accord, the two turtles turned back to their plans. Besides, if two Donatello's were better for brainiac plotting, then two Raphael's were exactly what was called for when a little pain, some destruction, and a lot of brute force were needed. After finalizing the plans for storming the homestead, the pair put their heads together for some additional, slightly more personal, plotting. The bastards who had stolen their brother, and nearly destroyed their family, were in for a world of pain; Raph and Raphael intended to be their tour guides for every step of the journey.

TMNTTMNT

Having left the Lair right around 4:30, the turtles arrived at their destination at 7:00, a full hour faster than it should have taken them. This, Raph knew, would vindicate Donny's insistence that they install the police jamming and detecting equipment in the Battle Shell, despite Leo's and Master Splinter's vehement disapproval.

After finding a sheltered spot not far from the front gate to the homestead to hide the Battle Shell, the turtles made their way to the massive, and over-done, front entrance.

"Geez," Mikey said, looking at the ostentatious structure of brick and iron. "Who do they think they are, Graceland?"

"Nah," Michelangelo drawled. "Look at the scrollwork and the 'coat of arms;' they definitely got themselves confused with the Queen of England. Or maybe Disney World."

"Cut it out you two," Donatello hissed at the Brats. "Donny and I are handling some very high voltage electricity here, and I would personally prefer **not** frying myself because one of you had distracted me."

"Sorry," pair apologized, just as Donny exclaimed, "Got it! Okay guys, the power on the fence is down, but it seems they may have had a sensor alert them of just such an event, so let's get moving now before someone comes to investigate."

In quick succession, the six turtles climbed up and over the gate. Once inside, they took to the trees as they made their way up the driveway. In no time at all, they could see the house and the barn, exactly as they had been depicted in Donny's satellite images. Having already discussed the plan during the drive up, the brothers required no conversation to know exactly what they were going to do. Sticking to the tree line, they moved around the open yard surrounding the house until they approached the ban. Then, moving with ninja stealth and speed, they crossed the yard into the barn.

At first glance, there was nothing in the barn beyond two pairs of shackles welded to the floor. Raph and Raphael looked at these with identical expression of disgust, instinctively knowing that not all that long ago Leo had been imprisoned there. As Donny took a closer look at the cuffs, however, he noticed something odd about them.

"Donatello, take a look at these," he called to his double. "It looks like they're wired for something. See here? This looks like a transmitter of some sort." He pointed out a small, rectangular protrusion on the cuffs.

"You're right," Donatello confirmed. "And a transmitter that small won't have a very large range."

"So, what does that mean," Michelangelo asked his technically inclined siblings.

"It means that whatever controls this is nearby," Donny replied. "I'm guessing it's probably hidden behind a false wall or floor panel."

With great glee, the brothers began to dismantle the barn. The noise they were making still wasn't enough to disguise the screech of the door as someone from the outside pushed it open. As one, the brothers turned to face the intruder. The man who came through the door was dressed for the outdoors, and was relatively attractive for a human; except for the eyes. He had the creepiest gray eyes Raph had ever seen that did nothing to hide the glow of madness shining from them. That the man was crazy was demonstrated when, instead of running from the sight or six oversized, well armed mutant turtles, he just gave them a lazy smile and said, "Well, guess that fella was right after all; there _are_ more of you."

That had everyone's immediate attention. If they were the "more," then it would seem this nutjob had seen Leo. Twins looks of hatred on their faces, Raph and Raphael advanced on the man they recognized as James Babbot from the driver license pictures Donatello had downloaded during the drive out of the city.

"All right, you over qualified candidate for the loony bin, what have you done with Leo," Raphael growled.

"So, the beast has a name," James drawled. "Oh, well, it doesn't make any difference now."

Suddenly, he found himself with a sword blade pressed uncomfortably close to his throat. "What doe that mean," Raph asked in a voice so softly dangerous that, for the first time since encountering that stranger in the bar, James was beginning to feel a trickle of fear run through him. Still, he didn't let that stop him from saying,

"Oh, only that since he's now my brother's play toy, well, let's just he doesn't need a name anymore. Not that he does a whole to talking anyway," he hinted in a deliberately salacious tone. "But, whoa boy, you should have heard him holler when I got my hand on him at the end of the hunt. The way he was screaming and begging for his life; guess it just goes to prove that yellow does go into making green."

Raphael growled, but made no move other than that. "You are a disgusting excuse for a human being," he said quietly. "And you had better still that lying tongue of yours before I cut it out and hand it to you. Now, I want you to listen, and listen good. From what I understand, you liking hunting; like it so much you've moved on from hunting innocent wildlife to something a little more 'challenging.' Well, we're going to give you one last hunt. You see, my brother and I are going to give you a five minute head start into those woods, and then we're going to come looking for you. The object of this game is simple: you have to get away before we get you. If not, well, let's just say you're going to know how the turkey feels on Thanksgiving. Now, I suggest you get moving. You've got five minutes and counting."

James just stared at the turtles in shock before turning and hightailing it out the door. Raph waited a moment, then followed him to make sure he didn't head to the house for reinforcements. Turning back to the others, Raphael said, "Finish taking this building apart. Rip up the floor, tear down the wall; whatever you have to do. When Raph and I get back, we'll tackle the main house. Oh, and anything that needs to be taken with us, set it outside to grab on our way out. This land is in bad need of an aura cleansing, and I've heard fire is considered an excellent purifier." And with that, he turned and disappeared out the door.

TTTT

Joining up with his younger "twin" outside, Raphael gave Raph a questioning look.

"He grabbed a gun from his truck, but that's it," Raph reported. "He made no attempt to warn the house."

"Good," Raphael said. "Then let the hunt begin." The pair made their way into the woods. For supposedly being such a wonderful hunter, James left a very obvious path behind him, which was incredibly easy to follow. Not that it would have mattered. For all that they had lived their entire lives in the city sewers, both Raph and Raphael were excellent trackers, no matter what the terrain. It was one of the skills Master Splinter, in both dimensions, had insisted on teaching them, and the two red-accented turtles had taken to it like, well, like turtles to water.

With only a five minute head start in his favor, it didn't take the brothers long to catch up to James. He had slowed his pace, and was watching the woods around him with cautious eyes, his gun never dropping. The turtles' eyes met, and a message passed silently between them. Without a word, they separated, with Raph moving off to circle around behind Babbot. After a few minutes to give his brother a chance to get into place, Raphael stepped out of the shadows and called, "Babbot, I'm coming to get you."

The human whirled around, raising his gun in the direction of the turtle, only to freeze at the sensation of something sharp poking in him the back.

"Gotcha," Raph told him quietly as he held Leo's katana against the psychopath's spine. "Now, drop the gun."

James started to refuse, only to have Raphael grab it away from him and toss it deep into the underbrush. "Now, Mr. Babbot," he said to the still defiant human as he placed Leo's other katana against his neck. "I believe we have a little matter of payback we owe you for our brother."

"You…you can't do this," Babbot protested, his sense of fear beginning to increase.

"And why is that," Raph asked, his tone dangerously smooth.

"Because you're the good guys," Babbot exclaimed, half-panicked by now.

"Nope, sorry. That might work with our youngest brother, but he's not here. Try again," Raphael taunted.

"What…what about the police," Babbot jabbered. "I'm human; it's their job to deal with people like me."

"Wrong again," Raph said. "Maybe our second youngest brother, or even Leo, might have fallen for that one. But I'll give you a little hint. My double and I, we're considered the wild ones in the family. The only one who can really control us is our oldest brother; the brother you stole away and hunted like some sort of animal."

"You hunted him, and you hurt him," Raphael added. "And if there's one rule I have that you just **do not**break, it's that you keep your hands off my family. Besides, we know you killed your own brother, another major strike against you, and the police couldn't prove a thing. Well, bub, we're not the police. We don't have to give you due process. We _know_ you're guilty, and there's no law to prevent us from meting out any cruel or unusual punishment that we see fit."

"I have a rather partiality for the eye for an eye method of punishment," Raph said. "So let's see. Ah, yes, the bear trap of yours Leo tangled with. It did some nasty damage to his leg. Well, I don't have a bear trap, but maybe this will do."

Saying that, he returned the katana to the sheath on his back and drew his Sais. Without warning, he stabbed them both deeply into James' right calf. James screamed, and would have crumpled if not for the sword now resting beneath his chin. Looking at the whimpering, snot-faced human, Raph nodded with a satisfied air. "Yep, looks about right," he told Raphael. "Of course, I have no doubts that Leo was less…pathetic."

"I believe you're probably right," Raphael replied. Turning back to Babbot he said, "Well, that takes care of the first part of this little exercise. Now, what came next? Ah, yes, the dog bite my brother received to his arm. Well, we don't have a dog, and I'm not about to put my mouth on you, but this tends to have a pretty nasty bite." He lifted Leo's katana. "Let's see, it was the left arm, wasn't it?" With that, he grabbed Babbot's left arm and ran the razor sharp blade across his forearm, being careful not to knick a vein, that would result in Babbot bleeding to death

By this time, James was nothing more than a screaming, teary mess. The sight of the pathetic human might have softened the brothers' hearts, if only they didn't remember the empathetic pain Donny and Donatello had been channeling the past several days, including a round earlier that morning during the drive out of the city; it had been Raphael's first experience watching his younger brothers writhe in the pain they shared with Leo. Pain their beloved big brother was experiencing as a direct result of what his pathetic excuse for a sentient being had done to him. Still, although having basically been given a carte blanche by their sensei, neither Raph nor Raphael had any intentions of actually killing the psycho, hence the care they had taken in wounding him. Still, there was one more wound James hadn't yet accounted for; a wound he was directly responsible for delivering. Without a word or a regret, Raphael took his sai and ran it through Babbot's left shoulder, in the same place he had shot Leo. Babbot screamed one last time, then collapsed.

The two turtles stood looking over the unconscious body. Neither of them had taken any pleasure from what they had just done, but they did feel a deep sense of satisfaction that Leo's initial assailant had paid in full. Still, they knew that none of their brothers would have been able to understand fully the depth of pre-meditated violence they had unleashed on their human adversary had they been there to witness it; hence the mock hunt. The Geek twins might have been able to accept it on a rational level, but the Brats never would have been able to take watching their older brothers methodically hurt anyone, even someone as clearly evil as Babbot. As for Raph and Raphael, they knew they wouldn't lose any sleep over it. Any of their brothers, but Leo in particular, deserved every bit of ferocity and coldhearted defense the two turtles had at their disposal.

Their job done, Raph and Raphael turned and headed back toward the farm. If James hadn't dragged his way out of the woods by the time they were done with their business here, they'd come find him and drag him back; after all, they weren't murderers like he was. However, if he were to die of blood loss between now and then, it wouldn't disturb their consciences either. Either way, he would get what was coming to him.


	12. Two Brothers

**A/N One psycho brother down, one to go. What happens to him? Well, you'l just have to read and find out for yourselves.**

* * *

The brothers made their way back toward the farm in silence, each lost in his own thoughts. Then Raph turned to Raphael and said, "I just realized; you stabbed Babbot in the wrong shoulder. Leo was wounded in the right shoulder."

Raphael just shrugged. "Oh, well," he said dismissively. "Unless you think we need to go back and 'rectify' the situation and stab again in the correct shoulder."

"Nah," Raph replied. "I think we got the message across."

The two sai-bearing turtles arrived back at the barn to find Mikey and Michelangelo sitting outside and literally twiddling their thumbs.

"Why aren't you two inside helping the Geeks," Raphael asked his youngest brothers.

"Donny found something he didn't want us to see, and he kicked us out," Michelangelo told him. "Said something about it giving _him_ nightmares."

Raph and Raphael looked at each other in alarm, and then hurried back into the barn, after reinforcing the order for the Brats to stay outside. Inside they found two very pale, but very angry, turtles waiting for them. "What's going on, bros," Raph asked in concern.

"We found Babbot's trophy room," Donatello responded.

"Where—"Raphael started to ask, but Donny stopped him.

"Trust me; you don't want to see it," he told his older brother seriously. "It was…bad." His tone of voice suggested that "bad" didn't begin to cover what the brothers had found in that room. Just then, Donny pulled something from out of his bag and handed it to Raphael. It was Leo's very familiar brown leather mask. "Babbot had it with his other 'trophies,'" he explained. "I certainly wasn't about to let it stay here."

Raphael took the mask and gripped it tightly in his fist, anger coursing through his stronger than ever. After a tense moment, Donatello broke the silence by asking, "So, did you leave him alive, or in pieces?" There was no need to ask who "he" was.

"He was alive the last time we saw him" Raph said. "If that should happen to change between now and when we leave, well, my conscience will be clear."

"That's good enough for me," Donny said. "Now, let's get away from this macabre freak show and go find Leo. Oh, and Raphael. You were right; this place is in bad need of cleansing." He would say nothing more on the subject, and the traumatized look in his and Donatello's eyes convinced their brothers that they really didn't want to know.

TMNTTMNT

After planting the incendiary devices to blow the barn when the time came, the six turtles made their way across the open expanse to the farmhouse itself. Without preamble or a second thought, Mikey and Michelangelo were allowed to knock the front door down, which they did gleefully. The six turtles entered the house and immediately split into two groups. Donny and Donatello, along with the Brats, dispersed throughout the downstairs living area, while Raph and Raphael took the upstairs. Each brother had donned his Shell-Cell headset and was under express instructions to alert the others if they located either Leo or the remaining Babbot brother.

The upstairs was set up so that each of the four bedrooms was accessed off a single, large landing. However, there was no telling which room was which, for all of the doors were closed when Raph and Raphael reached the top of the stairs. By silent consent, the pair started with the door the farthest to their right. Very carefully and silently, the pair opened the door, but the room beyond was empty. From the hunting décor, however, it was apparent they had located James' room. With wordless disgust, Raph closed the door, and the pair moved on. The next room was likewise empty, the furniture inside obscured by dustcovers. Raph suspected this room once belonged the long dead oldest Babbot brother.

While Raph and Raphael were trying to decide which of the remaining four doors they should try next, having struck on the first two, the door just to the left of the staircase opened, and a casually dressed Peter Babbot emerged. He gave the two turtles before him a startled, though not frightened, look, but Raph and Raphael couldn't take their eyes off the figure emerging silently behind the crazy-eyed human. There, in living, breathing color was Leo, looking worse and more downtrodden than either brother had ever seen him. Around his neck was some sort of collar, attached to a leash which Babbot, Jr. was holding in his hand. Tied around his shell was some sort of strappy harness that seemed to be confining his arms at his sides.

Following the pair's gaze, Peter looked at the silent turtle behind him. Yanking on the leash, he pulled Leo to his side, whereupon Leo immediately sank to his knees. Peter stroked his head like some sort of pet dog that had performed exceptionally well. Not once through the whole scene did Leo look up or acknowledge his brothers.

"Leo," Raph whispered hoarsely, desperately to his older brother, but Leo acted as though he never heard. He just kept his eyes glued to the floor in front of him.

"It's no use," Peter told them gloatingly. "It's taken me a while, and he still needs a reminder every now and then, but my pet here is finally broken to my hand. I am the center of his world; to him, nothing else exists beyond serving me."

"You bastard," Raph choked out, his eyes never leaving his big brother. Raphael laid a comforting hand on his shoulder, though Raph could feel the anger-induced trembling that coursed through his double. Just then, the other four turtles arrived from downstairs, having been alerted by Raphael as soon as he had seen Peter emerge from his room. Eyes narrowing, Peter glared at the newcomers.

"Get back," he warned them in his irritatingly prissy voice. "If you don't want me to hurt him then you had better get out of my way." But none of the newly arrived turtles could respond; all they could do was stare at the broken, non-responsive Leo kneeling at his captor's feet, a collar around his neck. "I'm warning you," Peter snapped again. "I will punish my pet here if you don't move. You don't want that, I'm sure. So move; now!"

If Raph hadn't been watching carefully, he might have missed it. Instead, a sense of joy burst inside him as he watched Leo's eyes harden for just the slightest moment. Whatever this creep had done to Leo, it hadn't broke him yet. Bent him, traumatized him yes, but not broken. Oh, no, somewhere in there Leo was fighting back. Imperceptibly, Raph tensed, ready to act as soon as Leo made his move.

From his viewpoint on the stairs, Donatello had likewise seen Leo's small flash of independence. The purple-clad turtle knew what that meant; Leo was planning something. It would then be up to his brothers to take advantage of the situation when the time came. It came as a surprise, then, when Leo slyly managed to meet his genius brother's eyes, only to flick his gaze toward Babbot. It was subtle, but Donatello wasn't considered a genius for nothing. Leo definitely had something planned, and he wanted his brother to keep his eyes on Babbot when he made his move.

In the blink of an eye, chaos struck. Leo abruptly lunged sharply away from Babbot, only to collapse screaming to the floor in a very familiar manner. While the Brats, Donny, Raph, and Raphael rushed to Leo's assistance, Donatello took out the very source of his brother's agony. As he'd been directed by Leo, Donatello had been watching as Peter surreptitiously touched a button on his watch, launching the agony the oldest turtle was now in. With lightening fast reflexes, Donatello struck out with his bo-staff, scoring a direct hit on Babbot's watch, shattering it. Immediately, Leo stopped writhing on the floor, although he didn't have the energy to do anymore than just lie there panting from the residual pain.

Peter scowled at the turtles, but the expression quickly melted off his face. "So what if you've destroyed my controller," he smirked. "I got what I wanted."

"What does that mean," Raphael asked with a growl.

"Oh, I think you know," Peter lyingly insinuated. "Surely you don't think your brother spent the night tied at the end of my bed." Actually, that was exactly what Leo had done, but Peter wasn't about to let these freaks before him know that. "I must admit," he continued. "Your brother was quite the—"

"Finish that deceitful thought and I will cut off your—"

"Raphael," Donny reprimanded. "Watch your language. There are children present." He looked pointedly at the Brats, who gave him a dirty look in response. Turning back to Peter, he added, "And I suggest you keep your mouth shut before he gets fed up enough to follow through on the threat."

"And here," Mikey called. "Take this back." He tossed the leash that had been attached to the collar around Leo's throat at the crazy human. Instinctively, Peter moved to grab the leash, but it somehow ended up twisted around his feet, causing him to fall directly toward the stairs. Donatello, who was still standing on the steps, could have prevented the tumble, but instead he just calmly leaped over the falling man. Peter fell head first, only to land at the bottom of the staircase with a sickening _crack_, his neck bent at an odd angle. Staring down at the body, Michelangelo scowled.

"That was to easy a way out for him," he told his brothers. "He didn't suffer enough for what he did to Leo."

"Unfortunately there's nothing we can do about that now," Raph said, though there was absolutely no regret in his voice. As far as he was concerned, such an ignominious death was better than the bastard deserved, but at least he couldn't hurt Leo anymore. As Donatello finally came to his brother's side, Raph moved out of the way so that his more medically knowledgeable sibling could get a closer look at their big brother.

"Until we can figure out how that collar was being used to hurt Leo, we'll need to leave it alone. Unless one of you wants to go search Babbot's body for the disengaging mechanism?"

"I'm on it," Raphael said, glad to have something to do. While he made his way downstairs, Donny and Donatello set about releasing Leo from the confining harness. Bypassing the complicated buckles, the two turtles pulled out their pocketknives and began to cut through the strap restraining their brother. As the leather pieces gave way, all the brothers' fury ignited once more as they found the bruised and torn flesh hidden beneath the harness, testament both to how hard Leo had fought his confinement, and the force of his struggles under the torment of the collar.

As the Genius twins set about cleaning their brother's wounds as best they could with their field supplies, including re-cleaning and bandaging his arm, shoulder, and leg, Donny commented, "It's likely someone's going to have to carry Leo out of here. It's apparent he's lost weight, no surprise, but after having his arms bound at his sides for who knows how long, he's not going to be able to raise them very high. In fact, it's probably going to take a couple of days of therapy before he'll be able to lift them at all."

"I'll carry him," Raph offered at once. "Just give me the word."

At that moment, Raphael could be heard exploding downstairs, "That sick of son of a b----!" He came thundering up the stairs, several items in his hands. One was a small remote-control type device he dropped in Donatello's lap. The rest of the items prove to be several bent and rather stained photographs. "That sick psycho had pictures of Leo; pictures of his out with us in the city, not pictures he took. Given how frayed they are, I'm guess the nutcase spent a lot of time looking and, much as I hate to say it, fondling them."

"Do you think he really…"Mikey couldn't finish the question.

"There's no sign of that," Donny reassured him. "We won't know for sure until Leo wakes up, but right now I'm inclined to think Babbot was lying."

"Ah-hah," Donatello suddenly exclaimed, catching everyone's attention. With the press of a button, the collar around Leo's neck clicked open. Tossing it aside with a look of disgust, Donatello examined his brother's throat. Other than some bruising where Babbot had yanked too hard on the leash, there was no further signs of physical trauma. As for the psychological trauma, well, they would have to deal with that in time. "All right," he told his brothers. "Raph, go ahead and grab Leo and take him on outside. Brats, go with him. Raphael, Donatello and I will lay the charges around the house. Once we're all outside, we can collect everything we're taking with us and get out of here. Once we reach the gate I'll hit the button that will wipe this place off the map."

"What about James Babbot," Michelangelo asked.

"I'll go check on him while you guys get Leo to the Battle Shell," Raphael told him. "If he's still alive, I'll haul his butt to the driveway. We can call the local authorities to come take care of him. With any luck, he'll get the blame for burning the place down."

Quickly, everyone set about doing their appointed tasks. With the Brats' help, Raph was able to get Leo down the stairs and out the front door. Inside the house, it took about ten minutes to properly set up the incendiary devices to the Genius Twins' exacting standards. It was done, though, and the three remaining brother exited the building to join their other siblings. What they found outside was a scene out of a nightmare. The bloody figure of James Babbot was standing in front of the house, holding his gun on Raph and the Brats, all of whom had dropped their weapons, unwilling to risk the unconscious Leo. Leo himself was lying on the ground safely behind his younger brothers.

"Get out here and join the rest of your freaky family," James called to Raphael, Donny and Donatello. "I've got a little business to take care of with you. And drop your weapons, or I'll start shooting. You wouldn't want me to take out one or your other brothers now would you?"

With a scowl, the three turtles did as he said, tossing their weapons to the ground as they joined their siblings.

"Good," James crowed. "Now, I owe you two," he motioned toward Raph and Raphael, "a little pay back." Without warning, he pulled the trigger twice, striking both brothers in the right arm. Both of them cried out in pain as they grabbed the wounds, but it wasn't their exclamation that claimed the family's attention. Instead, as a whole, the brothers couldn't keep their eyes off of Babbot, who suddenly had a sai sticking out of his gut. Not sure they could believe what they were seeing, the brothers turned to see who on earth could have thrown the weapon with such accuracy. Kneeling on the ground, half dazed and pale with pain, was Leo. His eyes, however, were glowing with anger as he looked at the fallen killer.

"No one touches my family, you dirty bastard," he hissed at the dead man. Then his eyes rolled back in his head, and he collapsed into a lifeless heap on the ground.


	13. Mikey's Touch, Take Two

**A/N Well, there are hints, very obvious hints, for the next installment in this series held in this chapter. Trust me, you can't miss them. Anyway, Leo's home, but recovery is never easy, especially nor for our oldest turtle. Good thing his brothers are ready and willing to do whatever is necessary.**

* * *

"Leo," Raph exclaimed. He moved as if to rush to his brother's side, by Mikey gently stopped him.

"Who, bro," he said. "Let Donny and Donatello check him out. Besides, you got shot, remember? Right now, we need to get that bleeding stopped." Raph looked his youngest brother mutinously, but seeing as how Raphael was getting the same treatment from Michelangelo, he couldn't argue over much.

At Leo's side, Donny and Donatello were doing a thorough examination. It was with relief they found that Leo was still breathing easily, and his heartbeat was strong and steady. After a quick conference, Donatello left Donny with Leo so that he could go report to the others.

"Leo's okay," he told his worried siblings. "I'm guessing he's just flat out exhausted, and it would appear he's undernourished as well. We'll let him sleep as long as he needs to, and we'll start an IV to rehydrate him during the trip home. Within a couple of days those two problems will be taken care. As for all his wounds, well, those are going to take a bit longer. There seems to be some slight infection present; on top of the exhaustion, lack of adequate food and water, and the torture the freakazoid was putting him through, his body just hasn't been able to beat if off yet. But it's nothing that we can't deal with."

"What about psychologically," Raphael asked. "I mean, the way he looked in the house…" All the brothers shuddered slightly; the memory of a dispirited Leo kneeling at his abuser's feet was one none of them would forget in a long while.

"I don't know," Donatello admitted. "Until he's a little more aware, I don't think we'll be able to tell. But even if he is…hurt, we'll take care of him."

"You can damn well bet we will," Raph growled.

"Right now, we need to get Leo home," Donatello said, taking charge of the situation once more. "He needs the security and comfort of our home so that he can begin to heal. To that end, Mikey and Michelangelo, go get Leo. It's probably going to take both of you to carry him. Donny and I will assist Raph and Raphael."

"Uh, Donatello, what about the front gate," Mikey asked. "Carrying Leo over it isn't going to be an option."

"Got it covered," Donatello told him. "I saved one small explosive to take the gate down, so we won't have to try and climb over."

Mikey grinned at his older genius brother. "Dude, you just rock," he said, then he and his twin went to relieve Donny of Leo duty.

TMNTTMNT

Twenty minutes later, almost exactly three hours after arriving at the Babbot homestead, the family of turtles was once again on the road, thought this time they were once again whole. Michelangelo was driving, with Mikey in the passenger seat beside him. Leo was strapped to the pull-down bed, sound asleep and hooked up to and IV drip. In the meantime, Donny and Donatello had settled Raph and Raphael on chairs so that they could clean and bandage the bullet holes in their arms. For Raph, it had been an easy, though painful, process since the bullet had passed all the way through his arm. Raphael took a little more work since, having been farther away and at an odd angle to James, the bullet that hit him had remained lodged in his arm. Still, it didn't take long for Donatello to remove it, and have his brother bandaged up.

"Until further notice, you two are not to do _anything_ strenuous with those arms," Donatello warned them.

"And don't even try to sneak behind our backs," Donny added. "We'll employ the Brats to keep on eye on you if necessary. And we all know what that means; you two won't have a moment of privacy for the next month."

"No fair," Raph whined.

"Yeah, I thought you wanted us to get better, not to torture us," Raphael put in.

"Just think of it as incentive to do what you're told," Donatello told the pair. "Now, both of you settle down and go to sleep. It may not have been severe, but you still lost quite of bit of blood. Besides, I'm not sure either of you really got any sleep last night, and if you're going to be there for Leo, you need to catch up while you can."

Once he was certain Raph and Raphael, or the Double Menace as he was beginning to think of them now that they'd made their peace with each, were resting, Donatello pulled out his Shell Cell. Hitting a quick-dial number, he sat down and waited for his father to answer.

"Hello," Splinter said, picking up on his end.

"Father, it's Donatello. We found Leo and we're bringing him home."

TMNTTMNT

Across town, Oroku Saki was sitting by himself in his dojo, meditating deeply. Suddenly, his eyes flew open, certain that there was someone or something in the room with him.

"Show yourself," he commanded to the seemingly empty room. Out of the darkness, a large, shadowy figure with glowing red eyes appeared.

"Who are you," Saki demanded, but the figure just gave a dark, humorless chuckle.

"At the moment, my name is of no importance," it said. "I just stopped by you can call off your search for the oldest turtle. He's been reunited with his family."

"I see," Saki said, his tone turning contemplative. "And you bring this information to me why?"

"Because I think we can help each other," the dark figure said. "You want the turtles gone for good; I want Leonardo's heart. Working together, I think we can accomplish both our goals."

Saki motioned for the stranger to follow him. "Come," he said. "I think we have much to discuss."

TMNTTMTN

It was later afternoon before the family finally reached home. That was partly because traffic at noon is much heavier than at five in the morning, but also the brother wanted to provide as smooth as trip for Leo as they could. Not that the oldest turtle would have noticed; he slept the entire way home, as did Raph and Raphael. Still, it was six exhausted brothers who climbed from the van when they finally made it back. Donatello was never, in his whole life, as happy to see his father, April, and Casey as he was that day.

"Come on, Donatello, Donny," April said, leading the pair away from the van and into the elevator. "Let's get you into bed. You both look awful."

"But Leo," Donny protested.

"Mikey and Michelangelo are looking after him, under Master Splinter's supervision of course. And Casey is going to make sure Raph and Raphael make it down in one piece. Once I get you two settled, I'll go check on Leo. If he looks like he still needs the drip, I'm more than qualified to take care of it," April told the pair. When they still looked anxious, she added, "You can put aside the worry for a little while, guys. You got Leo home. He's back where he belongs, and you guys will help him recover from whatever those bastards did to him. But that can't happen if you don't take care of yourselves first. Now, get off to bed."

The two turtles gave April a grateful smile.

"Thanks, April," Donatello said quietly, giving her a short hug.

"Yeah, April," Donny added. "Thanks." Then, to her surprise the shy turtle hugged her, too. Then, to the astonishment of all three of them, the younger turtle broke down in sobs. In complete understanding, April just wrapped her arms around him and held on tight while he cried. With a motion of her head, April indicated that Donatello should go on ahead. Right now Donny just needed someone to hold him and reassure him that everything was going to work out. April was happy to oblige. Once Donny was done, she would tuck him in bed and then go check on Leo. Until then Master Splinter could look after his oldest son. At this moment, this is where April needed to be.

TMNTTMNT

Leo slept for three days straight. The only time he woke was when his stomach or bladder required his attention, but once those needs were met he crawled right back into bed. It wasn't until Leo was truly awake on the fourth day that the damage done to him became obvious. There was absolute no spark of life or personality at all in the oldest turtle's eyes. It was like living with an automaton. He could take care of some of his personal needs, but given that the muscles in his arms were still stiff from spending such a long time locked into one position, and that he was once again confined to a sling for because of his wounded shoulder, he still needed help with certain things. Beyond that, he often had to be told to eat, or led from room to room. Otherwise, he would just sit there, staring blankly into space. He never spoke, and when spoken to he would just stare at the speaker with blank eyes. To top it all off, the only stimulus he reacted to was touch, and that he cringed away from, far worse than he ever had after moving in with Raph, Donny and Mikey in their dimension.

At first, his family wasn't inclined to push him too much, hoping, perhaps, that he would begin to come out of this waking fugue state after a few days at home. But after nearly a week had passed it became clear that Leo was not going to be able to overcome this on his own. But nothing his family did seemed to help. He would not respond when spoken to. If left alone, he would just sit in silence. Even one of Raphael's infamous temper tantrums, caused by one of the Brats' pranks, didn't even get a flinch.

After meditating on the problem one day, Master Splinter reported to his sons, "It's as if Leo as built a wall around himself. I fear his experiences at the hands of his captors caused him to withdraw within himself as a means of protection. It was probably the only way he could keep his sanity intact."

"But if he's not responding to us, what can we do," Mikey asked. "I mean, nothing seems to be working."

"Not quite true, my student," Splinter told him. "I have observed that although Leonardo flinches away from the touch of his other brothers, he does not do so as harshly from you. I believe that somewhere, deep inside, your brother recognizes your touch. Were you not the one who reached reminded him the enjoyment of physical contact before?"

"But," Mikey started to argue, until Raph cut him off.

"Master Splinter's right, little bro," he said. "Leo lets you get away with far more than he does the rest of us. He trusts you, even if he's not conscious of that fact."

"So what do I do," Mikey asked.

"And how can I help," Michelangelo added.

"Do just like you did before," Donny told his younger brother. "Show Michelangelo how to keep his movements slow, how to make sure Leo is aware of what you're doing before and as you're doing it. Help him remember that touch can be a good thing, that not all touches hurt. Just go with your instincts; you'll know what to do."

TMNTTMNT

The plan was put into place immediately. Following Mikey's lead, Michelangelo found himself almost constantly touching his brother in some way. From helping him get in and out of bed and on and off the couch, to taking care of more personal needs, the Brats were giving their brother a steady diet of gentle touches. After just a few days of the new regimen, Michelangelo had a new appreciation for his twin. Mikey was always patient with Leo, and never became discomfited by anything he was called upon to do for his brother.

"Leo's my brother," Mikey told his twin one day when Michelangelo asked if he ever got embarrassed about having to help Leo with personal tasks. "I love him more than anything. If this is what he needs from me, then this is what I'll do. Besides, I know he'd do it for me in a heartbeat, no questions asked." After that, Michelangelo's outlook changed, and he became his double's equal in caring for their brother.

Slowly, the family began to see a change in Leo's behavior. At first, he simply stopped flinching every time someone touched him. At that point, the others were able to step in and assist with the one-on-one care Leo sometimes still needed. But it didn't stop there. With Leo no longer flinching away from being touched, Donny was able to implement the first step in his physical therapy. As before, although the exercises weren't strenuous, it was apparent they left Leo sore and aching. Everyone was surprised, and no one more than Mikey, when Leo approached him the night after his fist session of physical therapy, and thrust a bottle of lineament into his hands. He then grabbed his brother's hands and, turning around so his back was to Mikey, placed them on his shoulders.

"Well, he may not be speaking yet," Donny said with a misty smile, "but he sure knows how to get his point across."

"What's that all about," Raphael asked, puzzled by the behavior, and even more by his new brothers' response to it.

"Back when we were working on rehabilitating Leo the last time, Mikey helped Leo get reaccustomed to touch by massaging his arm every few nights when they'd get sore from the physical therapy for his wounded shoulder," Raph explained, a sappy smile on his face. "It would seem he hasn't forgotten, either."

With a heartfelt smile, Mikey led his oldest brother to his room and got him settled on the bed. Curious, Michelangelo trailed along behind them.

"Here you go, bro," Mikey told Leo. "Let's get you lying down. Something tells me you're going to be sound asleep by the time I'm done here, so it will be a lot easier on all of us if you're already in bed."

Warming the liniment in his hands, Mikey began to gently rub down his brother's body. Leo was so relaxed under his hands that, had he been a cat, he'd have been purring. And just as Mikey predicted, Leo was sound asleep long before his brother was done. Michelangelo looked on in envious fascination.

"Can you teach me to do that," he asked his double. Mikey smiled in delight.

"No problem, dude," he replied. "In no time at all you'll be giving a mean Mikey massage, too."

TTTT

From then on, Leo made more rapid progress. Although still not speaking, he had regained his comfort with physical contact and affection. Actually, if anything, his appetite for it had increased. Leo went from being afraid of being touched, to constantly touching his siblings. Usually it wasn't anything overt; just little brushes of the arm or leg when sitting at the dinner table or when walking through a room. The Genius Twins theorized that this was Leo's way of making sure everything around him was real, and that he wasn't dreaming. Whatever the cause, Leo's brothers didn't mind. Especially since Leo's favorite activity had become snuggling. Whether it was sitting on the couch to watch a movie, or just sitting quietly to read a book, Leo loved to cuddle up next to his brothers. His favorite partners for snuggling to tended to be Raph, Mikey, and Michelangelo, but he would snuggle with anyone willing, and Donny and Donatello had insisted on their fair share of turns as well. The evening everyone returned home to find Raphael and Leo snuggled up together and sound asleep on the couch, they knew everything was on its way to being as it should be once more.


	14. A Setback

**A/N Well, the title ought to give you a hint about what's going to happen. But don't worry, love will prevail. Oh, and just to give you a hint: not everything is going to tie up neatl in this story (i.e. you've seen the last of Shredder and his new cohort for now; but don't worry. They'll be back). For now, enjoy.**

* * *

Things were going very well for the family. Unusually well, in fact. Once Leo had ceased to fear to his brothers' touch, something very strange happened. His wounds all but vanished, practically over night. Each time Donny and Donatello would check them, they would be noticeably healed more than the previous day. It was enough to drive the two geniuses crazy with confusion.

"I don't get it," Donny told his twin the morning they cleared Leo for full activity. "It should have taken weeks for those wounds to heal. But not only are they completely healed, there's not even a scar to prove they were there in the first place."

"It would seem to be a scientific impossibility," Donatello said. "But it reminds me a bit of those 'wounds' we got while Leo was missing. You remember those bullet holes in the Brats' shells, or the dog bite on Raph's arm. There is no way they should have been suffering from the same wounds that Leo, but they did. And yet, within a short amount of time, the wounds were gone. The same thing when we were picking up on Leo's pain from that shock collar. We—"

Donatello was cut off by the sound of something shattering on the floor. Standing there, a look of anguish on his face and two shattered mugs as his feet, was Leo. Meeting his brothers' looks of concern with an agonized one of his own, Leo turned and dashed back towards his room.

"Ah, shell," Donny said softly.

"He heard everything, didn't he," Donatello asked in a voice just as soft.

"That was Leo," Donny responded wryly. "Of course he did. I mean, come on. The one thing we didn't want him to hear, at least until he was a little steadier, is the one thing he accidentally overhears us talking about. It's how his, and our, luck runs. You know what this means, right?"

"Yep. Mr. Guilt out there is going to be tearing himself apart over this."

"Well, yeah, there's that," Donny said. "But that wasn't what I was thinking."

"Oh?"

"No, I was thinking that the Menace twins are going to kill us."

Donatello gulped. There was good chance the twin terrors that were their older brothers would do just that when they found out what had happened. "What do you think we should do," he asked.

"Let's try talking to Leo."

"And if that doesn't work?"

Donny gave his twin a distraught look. "At that point I think I'd be about willing to peacefully surrender myself to the Menaces, because after hurting Leo like we just did, even if we didn't mean to, well, anything they could do to me wouldn't hurt nearly as bad."

The two turtles headed toward Leo's room, where they found the door closed. Donny knocked on the door.

"Leo, can we talk to you," Donny called after his knock was ignored. "Please, we need to explain." There was no answer. The two youngest turtles spent the next five minutes pleading for their older brother to please, listen to them, but the room remained accusingly silent. Finally, the pair let Leo be. Until he was ready, there wasn't anything they could do to help.

TMNTTMNT

Leo sequestered himself away from his family for the next two days. Donny and Donatello were forced to reveal just what had taken place after Leo once more started shying away from his brothers' touches and embraces. To their surprise, none of their brothers blamed them for what happened, not even the Menaces.

"It was bound to happen sooner or later. That just how our luck seems to run," Raphael told the pair, unknowingly echoing Donny's earlier words. "Sure, we all wish it hadn't occurred until Leo was a little stronger and ready to listen, but if it hadn't been you, it would have been one of the rest of us."

"It just kills me that he doesn't trust us again," Donatello said. "I mean, he had come so far, and now we're back to square one."

"It's not us he doesn't trust," Donny told his double. "You said it yourself; Leo is 'Mr. Guilt.' Right now he's blaming himself for causing us pain. Our brother has the greatest capacity for assuming blame that isn't his to shoulder."

"So what can we do," Michelangelo asked.

"Right now all we can do is wait," Donny said. "Wait until Leo is ready talk about it."

"Great," Mikey said mournfully. "What are the chances of that happening in this lifetime? Seriously; Leo hasn't spoken a word since we got him back, and now we have to wait until he's ready to talk."

"It's the best we can do," Raph said. "Right now the ball's in his court. We'll just have to wait and see what he does with it."

TMNTTMNT

The next several days were extremely uncomfortable for everyone in the household. Leo continued to join his brothers for practice, now that he was completely healed, but the easy camaraderie was gone. For Donny, Raph, and Mikey it was a nightmarish flashback to those early days after they found Leo in the sewer tunnel outside their home, for Leo refused to meet any of his brothers' eyes. When he did accidentally meet anyone's gaze, there was such unmitigated grief in his eyes that it broke his brothers' hearts.

The situation around the Lair grew worse and worse. The more morose Leo became, the more depressed his brother became as well, almost as if they were feeling what Leo was feeling. It wasn't until nearly a month had passed that Donatello realized that must be exactly what was going on. This startling realization came about one morning after practice. Leo, who still refused to speak, was practicing one on one with Master Splinter. Donny and Donatello were watching their brother from the doorway when Donatello noticed something odd out of the corner of his eye. Every time Leo hit the mat, Raph winced. The only thing was, Raph wasn't watching Leo and Splinter. He wasn't even where he could hear Leo hitting the mat. Raph was across the Lair eating breakfast in the kitchen. There was no way he should have been able to know the exact moment Leo went down. A strange theory began to form in Donatello's mind, and he began to watch his brothers more closely over the next few days.

Four days later, Donatello pulled his twin aside into the lab. "I think I've got this figure out," he told Donny.

"The situation with Leo," Donny asked, proving once again just how alike he and Donatello were and thought.

"Yes," Donatello replied. "I think Leo has, somehow, someway, developed some sort of empathic ability."

"What makes you think that," Donny asked, not quite ready to dismiss or accept the unusual theory.

"I've been watching Leo this week, and I've seen some strange anomalies." Donatello told his twin about Raph wincing while Leo was being tossed around by their sensei. "But that's not all," he said. "Two days ago, Leo tripped on Mikey's skateboard and hit his funny bone. At the exact moment Leo hurt himself, Mikey grabbed his own arm like he'd struck _his_ funny bone. Later that same day Raph and Michelangelo got into a tickling fight. Raph got pinned, and Michelangelo started tickling the bottom of his feet. Leo was sitting in the kitchen, with his back turned to the living room, and I watched as his feet kept twitching like _he_ was getting tickled."

"Okay," Donny said. "If you're right, how did this happen? As far as I know, you don't just wake up one day with empathic abilities."

"Well, stop and think about everything Leo has faced in the past year," Donatello pointed out. "He got shot, went into a coma, spent several weeks wandering through the astral plane looking for you and your brothers, and we no sooner get him back and on his feet once more, then he's grabbed and tortured for nearly two weeks by a pair of psycho brothers. If it takes great mental and emotional trauma to induce this level of empathic ability I'd say Leo's been through it."

"All right, I'll buy into Leo being empathic," Donny said. "But I think you're only half right. I think all of us, to some degree, have become empathic, too."

"How's that," Donatello asked.

"It makes sense," Donny said. "Stop and look at just how depressed we've all been. This is more than just 'sympathy pains' for what Leo is feeling. And look at who's been the most affected: Raph and the Brats. The three turtles we all would admit Leo has the tendency to be closest to. Raphael's worry turns to frustration, so he's not picking up on a whole lot else, and we tend to rationalize or look for the logical explanation for things, so we pick up on a lot less. Raph, Mikey, and Michelangelo, though, tend to be more in tune with their emotions, so it makes sense that they would be picking up on Leo's too."

"Well, I guess we can always test it," Donatello said.

"How's that?"

"Let's see if we can 'feel' what Leo's feeling right now. If you're right, we should be able to do it," Donatello said.

The two brother sat down and cleared their minds like they were meditating. Instead of slipping into a meditative state, however, they allowed their thoughts to focus on their older brother. It took some work and concentration, and in the end Donny proved slightly more capable, but both turtles finally managed to reach their brother's mind.

"Whoa, that's a lot of baggage," Donatello said after he'd take a few minutes to recover. "But we were right. Leo _is_ picking up on our emotions; far more easily than we are his. He's picking up on our guilt, which makes his guilt worse, which in turn makes us feel worse, and it all becomes a vicious cycle."

"But now that we know, it gives us a little edge," Donny said. "We have the ammunition to confront Leo now. If we've all become empathic to a certain degree, then he's not responsible for our feeling his pain."

"Uh-huh, and just how are we going to convince the guilt master of that," Donatello asked just a little sarcastically.

"If talking to him doesn't work, we'll just guilt him into forgiving himself," Donny said, only half joking. "The truth is, Leo is craving our absolution. But with his self-esteem in such a battered condition, he doesn't feel worthy of asking. That, and he's fallen back on old habits of trying to protect us from himself again. He's blaming himself for failing to protect us from his pain. In this state, he's never going to make the first move. It's going to be up to us to approach him."

"Sounds like you've done this before," Donatello remarked.

"I have; back after your Leo came to live with us," Donny replied.

"Let's hope things work out as well this time and they did then," Donatello said.

"They will; they have to," Donny responded. "We didn't put this family back together just to let it fall apart now."

"The let's go find our brother," Donatello proposed. "It's time we settled this once and for all."

TMNTTMTN

The brother found Leo, of course, in the dojo. He gave them a wary look as they approached, and would have tried to get around them, but Donny put a gentle hand on Leo's shoulder, stopping him. When Leo tried to shy away from the touch, Donny simply increased the pressure just slightly.

"Enough of that," he said sternly. "We've had enough of this avoidant behavior of yours."

"We know you overheard us talking about something that took place while you were being held by those goons, and that's why you've been staying away from us," Donatello added. "We understand that you were simply trying not to hurt us by staying away from us, but it doesn't work that way."

Resigned, Leo relaxed under his brother's grip. Turning around to face the Genius twins, he motioned for them to join him on the floor. Unconsciously, the two younger turtles sandwiched Leo between them.

"To begin with," Donatello continued, "Donny and I think we've figure out what is going on; why we were able to pick up on what you were going through."

"We believe you've developed empathic abilities," Donny told Leo. His brother gave him a look of pure disbelief that made both Donny and Donatello chuckle. "I know, sounds like something Mikey would make up doesn't it? But it's true. Not only that, but all of us seem to have them to some degree or another."

"It's the reason everything's been so gloomy around the Lair here lately," Donatello said, taking up the argument once more. "You found out about us getting hurt, so you felt guilty. At the same time, we were feeling guilty because you had to find out about that the way you did. So our guilt fed into yours, making you feel worse, which in turn we picked up, and that only served to make us feel more guilty, and back and forth it went."

Leo's look told the brothers he still wasn't buying it.

"All right, I'll prove it to you," Donny said. "If I can tell you exactly what you are feeling, right this moment, will you at least consider the possibility?'

Leo gave him a long, searching look, then nodded his head slowly. Taking a deep breath to center himself, Donny cleared his mind and focused on his brother. With Leo so close at hand, it was much easier this time to get into his brother's emotions. The strength of what his brother was feeling brought tears to Donny's eyes.

"Oh, bro," he said softly. "You feel so much, so strongly. I could feel your confusion and disbelief over this whole conversation. You don't want to believe it, but at the same time it makes perfect sense. I could also sense how guilty you feel. Not just that we suffered along with you, but over the additional worry we've felt since this whole incident occurred. You have a deep anger and hatred for the ones who hurt you, and a burning humiliation over what they did to you. And underneath it all, I could feel your love for us, your family, and the fear that is preventing you from allowing yourself to accept our love in return. Does that sound about right?"

Leo, openly crying now, could only nod. This time when Donny and Donatello wrapped their arms around him, he didn't try to shake them off. Instead, he finally allowed himself to once again soak up the love and concern pouring off his brothers, acting as a balm to his troubled heart and mind.

"I don't know how to convince you that we don't blame you for what happened," Donatello told him as he continued to hug his older brother. "What we experienced was no one's fault, so there's no one who should absorb the blame. Besides, as I told Raph and the others while you were gone, it was almost a relief to undergo those painful episode."

Leo reared back to look at his brother in shock, eye opened wide in a question.

"As long as we were still experiencing those," Donatello explained, "then we knew you were still alive. Yes, you may have been in pain, and we may not have known when we were going to get you back, but at least we knew you were still out there, and we were doing everything we could do to get you back. In a way, those times when we felt your torture became our beacons of hope that we weren't too late."

Leo ducked his head again. "I…I knew. About you feeling what I was I mean," he whispered, startling his brothers. This was the first time he'd spoken since he'd come home. "At the time I convinced myself that it was only wishful thinking, that I was making it up. But every time I got hurt, something would remind me of one of you, and it would almost be like you were right there with me, and then it wouldn't hurt as bad. Like when I got bit by that dog. I thought about Raph said about being my strength when I didn't have any of my own left, and suddenly it was like he was standing there with me, and the pain dropped enough that I could do what I had to in order to free myself. Or whenever my mast…Peter would shock me with that collar. I'd imagine you two giving him a taste of his own medicine. In those moments, I could almost feel your presence, and the pain wouldn't be as bad anymore. I thought my mind was just playing tricks on me, like some sort of coping mechanism, until I heard what you were all going through. Because of me."

"Oh, no Leo," Donny told him, pulling into a snug embrace once more. "This is a two-way street. You did nothing to us we didn't allow you to do. It wasn't your fault. It certainly wasn't your fault you, and by extension we, were in pain. That blame belongs squarely with those Babbot freaks."

"I'm sorry," Leo sobbed, holding onto his brother even more tightly. "So, so sorry."

"Shh," Donny whispered, tears gathering in his own eyes. "You have nothing to be sorry for. You did what you had to do to survive, and if that means we had to undergo some short-term discomfort, so be it. I would much rather have you alive and home because of it. I know the Brats and Raph, and Raphael feel the same. "

"But what if it happens again," Leo asked tearfully. "What you hurt because of me?"

"Then it happens," Donatello told him, rubbing his shell soothingly. He was crying, too. "Besides, there's an upside to this empathic bond we all share. Just as it let us share in your pain, it also helped us heal you quicker. That's why your wounds disappeared like they did. And now that we know about it, we can work on controlling it. But for now, I just want my brother back. To quote someone very important to me, 'I wish you could see yourself the way I do.' Your courage astounds me. You survived something that would have destroyed a lesser being. You fought back and didn't let it beat you. Now it's time to finish the job. Come back to us, Leo. We love you, and we've missed you."

For the first time, Leo allowed himself to not only hear, but feel, the emotions behind his brother's words. His mind opened up this way, he would also feel the love and support coming from Donny, and all his brothers. It was a heady feeling. He smiled at the warmth it created inside him.

"I guess this empathy stuff's not all bad," he said. "That being said, do you think we might have a…a snuggling session? I've missed them the past month."

"Wild horses, angry Raphael's, and wild Mikey's couldn't keep us away," Donny told him. "But be forewarned; we all have a lot of time to make up for. You're probably not going to have much time alone for a while."

"I've been alone for far too long," Leo said. "The company will be welcome." Still, he made no move to get up. Instead, the three brothers just sat together, rejoicing in their bond, once more restored.


	15. Overcoming the Nightmare

**A/N All right, I think I'm going to do an epilogue for this story, and it will be done. But never fear, as you've notice I haven't tied everything up, and I already have some pretty good ideas about where the next story or two is going to go. In the meantime, thanks again for all the wonderful reviews! I'm glad everyone seems to have enjoyed this little jaunt through Turtle-Land as much as I have. And now, on with the show...**

* * *

Surprisingly, the rest of the family accepted their new found empathetic bond with equanimity. They simply added practicing control to their daily schedule. As the brothers began to work on fine tuning their mastery, they discovered their connections to each other became even stronger. Not surprisingly, Mikey had the strongest ability, next to Leo that is, while Raphael was the least sensitive. The brothers also learned that while they could sense each other with a little concentration, connections were most easily made between "twins," and between individual brothers and Leo. Leo, on the other hand, could connect with any, or all, of his brothers' emotions at will.

The increased connection between the brothers only made them a better team. The Brats, already closely bonded, became an even bigger pest because they now truly acted and thought as one; an annoying trait in a pair of prankster like those two. Donny and Donatello likewise found that more and more often they didn't need to speak to communicate, driving Raphael half crazy with their silent conversations. Leo had finally laid down the rule that if the pair was in the presence of others that verbal communication was required. As for Raph and Raphael, well, they certainly didn't become as closely bonded as the Brats or the Geniuses, but now they could work together peaceably, without any residual tension between them at all. But where the family truly came together was looking after Leo. Sure, he still went out of his way to take care of his brothers' needs, but that was alright. They returned the favor full force, making sure Leo was equally looked after, if not even better.

There was a dark side to their newly found joy, however. In the few weeks since Leo had begun speaking again, his dreams had been plagued with horrible nightmares. Some nights they were enough to drive him from sleep only briefly before he would be able to roll over and go back to sleep. Other nights, Leo would be compelled to seek the comfort of his brother's bed, usually Raph, who would simply hold Leo close until both were able to return to sleep. And then there were the night when terrors that would permanently drive Leo from his bed. Generally, on those nights, he would either settle himself in his new family's common room to meditate, or he would fall back on old habits and take himself to the dojo for additional practice.

The worst part, for the entire family, was that Leo had no memory of the terrors that drove him from his sleep. Since pretty much everyone was in some way aware of when Leo had yet another nightmare, courtesy of their empathic bond, there was no way for him to hide what was happening, had he wanted to; which, being the caretaker he was, he did, of course.

"I don't get it," Raphael said quietly to his younger brothers one afternoon. They were all seated in the living room watching a movie. Well, in theory they were watching a movie. The truth was they were doing more watching of Leo, who was sound asleep with his head pillowed in Raphael's lap; they movie was turned almost all the way down in deference to their exhausted sibling.

"What don't you get," Donny asked.

"These nightmares," Raphael replied. "I mean, expected Leo to have them months ago when we first brought him home. Instead, he acted like he didn't remember a thing about what happened to him. So why has it taken him until now to start having them?"

"That's because Leo probably _didn't_ remember. It's taken this long for his subconscious to finally feel it's safe enough to allow Leo to start remembering exactly what he went through," Donatello explained.

"But he's not really remembering anything," Mikey pointed out. "He just wakes up terrified."

"We can probably assume this is just the tip of the iceberg," Donny said. "Sooner or later, Leo is going to have to face those memories, whether he wants to or not. Only when he does will he be able to heal completely from what was done to him."

"So I guess there's not a whole lot we can do for him, huh," Raphael said, absentmindedly rubbing Leo's shell with a gentle hand, unconsciously sending warm, protective thoughts to his sleeping brother.

"Just what we're already doing," Donatello responded. "Provide a secure environment for him, so that when the memories do come, he'll have a safe place to come when they hit. Because I'm afraid when they hit, those memories are going to come hard and fast."

TMNTTMNT

Donatello had no idea just how true his words were going to prove to be. Over the next few weeks, Leo gradually began to see more and more in his dreams. It almost reached the point he hated to go to bed, because he knew the demons that waited for him in his sleep. Sensing that the crises was coming, Raph started insisting that Leo abandon his own bed and bunk down with him for a few nights. To Leo's surprise, the new rooming situation seemed to help. Although the images were no less disturbing, having Raph's warm presence immediately beside him made it far easier to shake off the lingering effects of the memories. However, the increased feeling of safety seemed to be the final straw.

It was 2:00 on a Thursday morning when Raph found himself jerked from sleep by the wave after wave of fear/disgust/humiliation washing over him. He didn't have to be that Leo had regained his full memories of what had happened during his capture; he just knew. Sitting up in bed, he looked around for his brother. Eventually he found Leo sitting on the floor, arms wrapped tightly around his knees, rocking himself silently while tears poured down his face. Almost constant shivers beset his tense frame.

"Ah, bro," Raph said softly, climbing out the bed. He pulled the heavy comforter off the bed, the one April had given him a few weeks ago for Christmas, and, sitting down next to his brother so that he could wrap an arm around his shoulders, he draped it around the two of them, encasing them in its warmth.

"Come on, bro, talk to me," Raph encouraged is silent brother. "What's going on in that head of yours? Whatever it is, you need to get it out. Please, talk to me." But Leo just continued to rock himself. After a few minutes of desperate pleading, Raph became convinced he was going to need some help. But who was he going to get? He couldn't leave Leo alone to wake either of the Geniuses up, and while it may have been possible to bang on the wall loud enough to get Mikey's attention, this wasn't exactly something the youngest turtle needed to see or hear. Just then, an idea came to him. Closing his eyes, he concentrated as hard as he could on his "twin." It was difficult breaking through to Raphael; the older turtle was an incredibly deep sleeper, and his resistance to the empathy was great even in his sleep. Eventually Raph was able to get his double awake enough that Raphael became aware of the excessive amount of emotion pouring off of Leo. Within moments he was in Raph's room.

"What happened," he asked softly, his voice full of concern.

"I think his full memories hit," Raph said as the pair lifted Leo off the cold floor and settled him back in the warmth of the electric blanket on Raph's bed. "I woke up with his emotions running wild through my mind, and him sitting there rocking himself on the floor."

"What do you think we ought to do," Raphael asked as he and Raph settled themselves on the bed, arranging their positions so that Leo was sandwiched between them.

"Before we can anything, we've got to get him calmed down," Raph said. "Right now he's trapped in his own head, completely unaware that we're even here."

After several futile minutes of calling and pleading for Leo to come back, the two younger turtles were left with only one weapon in their arsenal; fortunately, it was an extremely potent one. They only hoped it was enough to break through the seemingly impenetrable shield their brother had encased himself in. Drawing upon every ounce of love, respect, honor and appreciation they felt for Leo, the two turtles projected all those emotions directly into their brother's mind, hoping that somehow, someway, it would be able to reach him when everything else had failed. In the end, it worked. Leo sat up with a gasp, and recognition returned to his eyes; eyes that reflected horrors no eighteen year old, human, turtle, or otherwise, should be forced to endure.

Just as quickly as he had sat up, Leo sagged again, but this time his brothers were there to support him.

"Easy there, big brother," Raph said gently. "You're back with us; everything is going to be okay."

"How can everything be okay," Leo responded in an agonized whisper. "You don't know…the things they did, what I was forced to do. They…they broke me."

"NO," Raphael said harshly, though his voice was quiet, so as not to wake the rest of the family. How they were sleeping through this emotional tidal wave was beyond him, but he was relieved nonetheless; Leo didn't need a circus while he was working through his experience. "They didn't break you; if they had, you never would have survived until we could get you home. You'd have been dead long before we got there if they had succeeded."

"You don't understand," Leo maintained.

"Then tell us," Raph implored.

"I…I can't," Leo replied.

"You have to," Raphael told him. "You'll never get past this until you share it. It's just the three of us. Nothing you say will every leave this room; you know you can trust us. You know what we feel for you; how much we love you. Trust in that love. Trust that it will be able to see you through this."

By this time all three turtles had tears in their eyes, but there was something else in Leo's gaze. Something that hadn't been there before: hope. Hope that this nightmare might nearly be over.

"I don't know where to start," Leo finally told his brothers. Both Raph and Raphael tightened their grip on him.

"Try something a little less painful," Raph suggested. "What about the night you disappeared?"

Leo nodded; this he could do.

"I knew something was wrong the moment we landed on April's rooftop," he told his brothers. "I just wasn't sure what, and by the time the threat had made itself known, it was too late. The only other thing I remember clearly was the sense of some dark, malicious presence that, somehow, I knew hated me with a soul-deep passion."

"That sounds familiar," Raphael commented. He explained about the presence Master Splinter had sensed when searching for Leo's mind in the astral plane.

Leo nodded; the description seemed to fit. That dark entity, something so innately evil, wasn't human, and it definitely had it out for Leo, but the oldest turtle couldn't name a reason why.

"So what happened next," Raph prompted, purposefully interrupting his brother's dark contemplation. Leo described waking up chained in the barn, and the "discussion" with James Babbot.

"Being tied down like that was startling, but meeting that psycho for the first time was even more unnerving," Leo told his brothers. "Yet, in a way, James was easier to deal with. I mean, compared to the Shredder, James Babbot was about as scary as a half-grown kitten."

"Still, it couldn't have been much fun, running from him in the woods like that," Raphael remarked.

"No, I certainly wouldn't say it was fun," Leo said with a slight smile, momentarily lifting his brothers' spirits. "I was terrified when I got caught in that bear trap. But for the briefest moment I could sense Raph, and that gave me the strength to get myself free. I knew I had a family to get back to, and I was determined Babbot wasn't going to get me that easy. And then I found that emergency blanket the Brats had stuffed in the sheath with my katana."

"What," Raph and Raphael exclaimed together with an unexpected laugh. "Why did they put it there," Raph asked, bemused. Leo explained about the "vision" he'd seen upon touching the blanket.

"For once, one of their pranks turned out to be exactly what was needed," Leo said. "Knowing what I do now, it's clear I was picking up on their residual emotions tied in with the blanket. That just reinforced my will to fight." He went to describe the painful encounter with the dogs, and the discomfort of, once again, being wounded in his right shoulder. His memories of the next few hours were still murky, thanks to the hypothermia he had been suffering from. As it was, he wasn't completely clear on anything until he once more awoke in his "pen" in the house. At this point, Leo's voice stumbled.

"The rest of this isn't pretty," he told his brothers. "And it isn't going to be easy to tell." The two younger turtles just hugged him tighter.

"We're right here," Raph told him.

"Just remember, no matter what you were forced to do to survive, it won't change anything we feel for you," Raphael added. Taking a deep, fortifying breath, Leo continued.

"I'm not sure what the worst part. First there was that…that harness. Tied up like I was, I was completely vulnerable. I couldn't defend myself, or catch myself when he'd engage that shock collar. All I could do then was fall and try to aim myself so that I would hopefully minimize the damage. Even worse, I couldn't do _anything_ for myself. After I refused to eat face first from a plate like some sort of animal, that crackpot Peter made me eat from…from his hand. Sometimes he would make me…make me," Leo stopped, the words becoming too difficult to say. His brothers just waited, their hands moving soothingly over his shell, their emotions warm and supportive. "I would have to beg for it, like some sort of animal," Leo finally spit out. "Or he'd give the leftovers from his meal after he was done eating. And there was the humiliation of taking care of personal hygiene issues. I was taken outside every two hours and expected to 'do my business' outside like someone's pet dog. Oh, and baths were a treat, too. Peter would chain me up in the bathtub and bathe me himself." Leo shuddered at the memory of those repulsive hands running all over his body.

Unable to repress the question, now that there was an opening, Raphael asked, "Did he ever…? I mean, he hinted about something…sexual."

"No, he never raped me," Leo told his brothers, much to their relief. "Not that he didn't think about it, I think, but in the end he considered it no better than bestiality, and that held no appeal to him. No, he saw me more as some sort of trophy pet; hence that revolting collar. I wasn't allowed to leave me 'pen,' which happened to be his converted walk-in closet by the way, without being on a leash. When he was feeling generous, he would let me simply walk normally. But when he was feeling dominant or pissy, I was forced to crawl after him on all fours. Anytime he stopped, I was required to kneel at his side, like a dog at heel. He loved to have me sit at his feet where he could stroke my head and shoulder while he read in the living room, or worked on the computer. But the slightest infraction, the little signal of disobedience, and he'd activate that collar. Sometimes he did it just watch me scream, I think.

I think, had it not been for that night I met Mikey in the dreamscape, I would have lost it for good. I was at my breaking point, but that dream gave me just enough strength to hold onto until you came for me the next day." Leo dropped his head, shame and humiliation practically dripping off him. "Can you understand now? I'm not who I was before; something was taken away from me while I was with those creeps."

"You're right, you aren't who you were before," Raph conceded. "I can see the difference. But the question is, can you?"

"They stripped me of my dignity, despoiled my honor, raped my will if not my body, and you don't think I can see the changes in myself," Leo demanded.

"No, we know you can see those minor changes," Raphael said. "But you're missing the more important alterations you've undergone. You're so caught up in the worthlessness they tried to beat into you that you've missed the growth your family has seen. Leo, you are stronger than ever; we've all seen _and_ felt it. You didn't allow what was done to you make you bitter; it's only increased your compassion. Everything they tried to steal from you, you came back with twice as strong."

"I…I just can't see it," Leo said haltingly. "All I see is a coward and a weakling who allowed himself to be degraded and humiliated."

"Tell me something, bro," Raph said. "Why exactly did you let them do those things to you? Was it because they broke your will and enforced theirs upon you, or was it because you knew that true strength comes from knowing which battles to pick, and understanding that sometimes you have to surrender a little in order to win?"

As Leo was mulling over that, Raphael added, "You say you can't see the strengths you've gained? Well let us show you what we see."

Into Leo's mind appeared an image of himself. But it wasn't the image of a downtrodden, defeated turtle he saw when he looked at himself. This Leo stood tall, with a courage, compassion, and, dare he say, wisdom shining in his eyes that Leo wasn't sure was really there. In many ways, the Leo his brothers were projecting to him resembled on of Mikey's super heroes. All he was missing was the stylized mask and cape.

"I can take care of the mask," Raph said, making Leo realize he must have spoken that last thought aloud. From beneath the bed, Raph pulled a small box. With grave ceremony, he handed it to his brother. Raphael, who wasn't sure what exactly was going on, looked on in wonder as Leo pulled a new mask from the box. Leo could only gape at the masterpiece in his hands. The actual face mask was made of deep, rich brown leather that was almost silken to the touch. The mask's ties were made of blue silk; very familiar blue silk.

"I had planned on giving this to you back before you disappeared," Raph explained. "I made it in recognition of what you've done with our family; how you've taken two completely separate groups and blended them together to make one family."

"I don't deserve this," Leo told him.

"Don't you dare say that," Raph told him in a hurt tone. "If you're not ready to wear it yet, that's fine. Even if you don't like it, I can accept that. But don't you give me this bullshit about not being worthy to wear it. It's my gift to give; if I think you're worthy of it, who are you to say otherwise?"

Leo gave his brother a startled look, then turned to look at Raphael for his reaction. "Don't look at me," Raphael replied. "I happen to agree with him."

Staring at the beautiful mask in his hands for a long moment, Leo did some hard thinking. He was at a crossroads, he knew. He could either accept what his brothers were telling him, trusting in them to see him through until he could see what they saw in him, or he could continue to wallow in his fears and doubts. At that thought, Leo's eyes hardened. He would not let James and Peter Babbot steal his self-worth _and_ his family from him, for he knew without a shadow of a doubt that he would lose his brothers if he didn't at least try to fight this. The Babbots had taken more than enough from him already; they weren't going to get anymore. With a gravity equal to what Raph demonstrated in giving him the mask, Leo reached up and fitted the new mask to his face. Immediately, hands were there to help him tie it in place. Once done, Leo stood up and faced his brothers.

"I'm still not sure about all this," he said. "But I've had enough taken stolen from me. It stops now. I will still probably need your help; I know I will. But, as we've proven, as a family we're stronger than anything **anyone** can throw at us."

At that declaration, Raph and Raphael threw themselves on their brother. He met them with open arms, pulling them tightly to him. Their arms around each other, the brothers silently promised that, as a family, they **would** overcome this trial, and in the end, their family would be stronger than ever.


	16. Then End, for Now

**A/N All right, here's the epilogue. Think of it as a teaser; just some small hints for what's coming up next.**

* * *

With his family's continued help and support, Leo was able to overcome the trauma done to him by the Babbot brothers. The Brats were also ready with a joke or a smile whenever he was feeling blue; which was a little more often than his family preferred to see. Donny and Donatello were always willing to stop and listen or talk as needed when Leo required a voice of reason to help him through his troubled thoughts. Even Splinter came through for his son, helping him find a measure of peace through focused meditation. And then there was Raph and Raphael. After the night they helped Leo work through his memories, they became his closest confidants and greatest cheerleaders. It was like some sort of barrier among the three had been eradicated that night. The two younger turtles became better than anyone at knowing exactly what Leo needed, usually before he did. Even more amazing was how open Raphael had become at demonstrating his feelings, especially towards Leo. Everyone had always known that Raphael loved his big brother, but now he was far more demonstrative of that fact. He still wasn't quite as apt as Raph hug, or snuggle as needed, with Leo when the others were around, but his tone of voice around his big brother became perceptibly gentler, and he could be seen showing his affection on a regular basis through small, innocuous touches throughout the day.

All in all, things had become almost normal once more. Until Donny found the photos Raphael had pulled off Peter Babbot's body. Something about the pictures bothered him, and it took a few minutes of studying and analyzing the images on the computer to figure just what it was. Upon realizing just what was so disturbing about the images, he tore out of the lab, yelling for his family.

"Donny, what is it," Leo asked in concern as he came charging out of the dojo, katanas in hand. Raph, Mikey, and the others were right behind him. Donny showed him the pictures.

"Look at these," he told his brothers. "What do you see?"

"They're pictures of Leo," Raphael replied. "No surprise there, Donny."

"That's what I thought, too," Donny said. "Until I noticed something about this picture here." He pulled one of the pictures from the stack. "I couldn't figure out what was bothering me about it until I scanned it into the computer for a closer look. This is what I found." He handed over a printed image. It took his brothers a moment to realize what they were looking at. It was the same image of Leo, only blown up so that the background details were more easily seen. Such details as the Shredder lying on the floor, Leo's swords protruding from his body.

"But, that's impossible," Mikey sputtered. "By that point, we were the only ones still conscious in that warehouse; other than Stockman that is."

"Wrong angle for Stockman," Donny told them. "Stockman was located to Leo's right; this was taken from an angle to the left."

"What I want to know is how these pictures made from that dimension into this one," Donatello said. "We didn't bring them with us."

"And we certainly didn't have them when the Bridger brought us over," Raph said. Abruptly, Leo took the pictures from his brothers' hands; almost immediately he dropped them on the floor.

"Leo," Raph asked his brother, seeing the dark look on his brother's face.

"It's that…presence," Leo told his siblings. "The one from the rooftop. The same one I kept sensing while the Babbots were torturing me. Those pictures absolutely reek of that dark maliciousness."

"So what does that mean," Michelangelo asked.

"I think it means we haven't seen the last of whatever it is that's hunting me," Leo said, incredibly calm in the face of this new threat. "And whatever it is, I don't think it's like anything we've ever faced before."

"Well, whatever it is, it had better watch out," Raphael declared. "It's messed with this family one too many times. Next time, it's our turn."

* * *

**End Notes: Okay, so there's one more story in my torture Leo arc. After that, Leo will still be the primary focus, but I'll try and branch out in my turtle torture. In any case, hope you've enjoyed this small offering in the Blended Family world, and I hope to see you soon as we head into the next installment. Kikide**


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